LD 

7251 
ReGe 


IC-NRLF 


SB 


IMS 


X 


m 

M6MGRIMLS. 


ANNA  R  SILL. 


KnsS  by  . 


iSLsf^t-^L.. 


MEMORIALS 


ANNA    P.    SILL, 


FIRST  PRINCIPAL  OF 


1*70  afford  female 


1849=1889. 


ROCKFORD,  ILL.  : 

DAILY  REGISTER  ELECTRIC  PRINT. 

1889. 


BIOGRAPHICAL 


f 


Biographical. 


fT  is  fitting,  when  a  life  of  great  power  or  great  usefulness 
passes  from  the  visible  into  the  invisible  realm,  that 
some  history  or  memorial  of  it  should  be  written  besides 
that  recorded  in  its  outward  and  visible  results.  Especially 
is  this  true  of  the  teacher,  whose  work  is  to  a  great  extent 
impalpable  to  the  senses,  and  whose  life  lives  largely  in  the 
lives  and  characters  influenced  and  moulded  by  it.  And 
yet  such  lives  are  generally  least  able  to  be  separated  in 
their  integral  elements  from  those  into  which  they  pass. 
The  daily  routine  of  constant,  and  too  often  unappreciated 
and  unrewarded  toil,  passes  by  like  that  of  the  sun  in  the 
heavens,  unnoticed  until  it  disappears,  and  is  known  only, 
or  chiefly,  by  the  blessings  it  silently  sheds,  and  the  fruits  it 
slowly  developes.  To  such  the  divine  words  preeminently 
apply,  "Whoso  loseth  his  life  shall  find  it/'  But  the 
finding  is  often  deferred  till  it  has  passed  from  the  earthly 
to  the  heavenly  state. 

The  life  here  briefly  delineated  was  identified  in  a 
remarkable  degree  with  the  Institution  to  which  she  devoted 
its  greater  portion.  This  renders  it  appropriate  to  weave 
together  the  history  of  the  two,  as  far  as  they  can  be 
recovered  and  outlined  in  a  memorial  sketch,  rather  than 
a  biography. 


M187491 


0  MEMORIALS   OF 

It  is  much  to  be  regretted  that  Miss  Sill  did  not  live  to 
complete  a  MS.  begun  a  few  years  ago  and  found  among 
her  papers,  the  design  of  which  is  thus  recorded  in  a 
prefatory  statement : 

"  After  laboring  in  the  cause  of  Education  forty-six 
consecutive  years,  forty -two  years  in  Seminaries  for 
young  women,  and  more  than  forty  years  as  Principal, 
and  nearing  the  age  of  three  score  years  and  ten,  ] 
have  been  asked  to  write  a  book.  What  book  shall  I 
write?  The  world  is  full  of  books,  and  I  have  no  great 
ambition  to  be  an  author.  I  have  hitherto  been  writing 
on  the  tablets  of  human  hearts  by  spoken  words,  which 
may  prove  more  ineffaceable  than  the  printed  page.  But 
it  maybe  said,  books  have  a  vitality  when  human  life  goes 
out.  So  does  the  influence  of  spoken  words.  Then  it  has 
been  suggested  to  me  'to  write  a  history  of  Ilockford 
Seminary,  and  a  sketch  of  your  own  life.'  All 

this  leads  to  earnest  thought,  and  I  seek  to  know,  'the 
greater  good,'  the  motto  of  my  life.  I  have  decided  not 
to  write  and  publish  a  book,  but  to  do  what  I  can  in 
gathering  the  scattered  fragments  of  the  history  of  the 
Seminary  within  my  reach,  a  work  which  no  one  else  can 
do,  and  to  make  a  record  of  them  in  a  journal,  and  at  the 
same  time  write  a  sketch  of  my  own  life,  each  illustrating 
the  other,  and  revealing  the  Providence  of  God;  and  so 
leave  this  MS.  for  friends  and  old  students  who  may  have 
any  interest  to  read  it." 

Only  the  first  chapter  of  this  history  was  written, 
entitled  "Ancestry,  Childhood  and  Early  Years."  From 
this  we  gather  and  compile  in  condensed  form  thefollowing 
outline : 

ANNA  PECK  SILL  was  born  in  Burlington,  Otsego  Coun- 
ty, N.  Y.,  on  the  9th  day  of  August,  1816.  She  was  the 
youngest  of  ten  children,  and  inherited  the  qualities,  intel- 
lectual and  moral,  of  a  long  line  of  Puritan  ancestors. 
The  family  was  descended  from  John  Sill,  of  England,  who 
with  his  wife  Joanna  emigrated  to  this  country  in  1637,  and 
settled  in  Cambridge,  Mass.,  only  seven  years  after  the  set- 
tlement of  the  town,  and  the  same  year  in  which  Harvard 
College  was  founded. 


ANNA  P.  SILL.  7 

About  1789,  her  grand  parents  removed  with  their 
families  from  Lyme,  Conn.,  to  Otsego  county,  N.  Y.,  at 
that  time  a  wilderness,  and  settled  in  the  picturesque 
neighborhood  of  what  is  now  Burlington.  Her  grand- 
father, Deacon  Andrew  Sill,  a  man  of  revered  and  sacred 
memory,  was  a  prominent  member  of  the  Congregational 
Church  in  Lyme,  and  held  the  office  of  deacon  for  thirty- 
one  years.  He  was  a  patriot  soldier  in  the  Revolutionary 
war,  and  lived  to  the  ripe  age  of  90  years  and  6  months. 

Her  father,  Abel  Sill,  was  a  quiet,  industrious  and 
intelligent  farmer,  who  died  prematurely  of  typhoid  fever 
in  1824,  in  the  50th  year  of  his  age,  when  Anna  was  but 
seven  years  old. 

Her  maternal  grandfather,  Hon.  Jedediah  Peck,  whose 
name  is  recorded  in  the  history  of  New  York  State,  was  a 
man  of  great  influence  and  usefulness  in  his  day,  and  filled 
several  high  positions  as  legislator  and  judge.  He  was 
also  a  teacher ;  was  skilled  in  the  sciences  of  navigation  and 
surveying,  and  was  the  first  to  urge  legislative  action  for 
the  establishment  of  common  schools  and  the  abolition  of 
imprisonment  for  debt.  He  died  in  1821,  at  the  age  of  73 
years. 

Her  mother,  eldest  daughter  of  Judge  Peck,  was  a 
woman  of  great  energy  of  character,  a  good  scholar  in  her 
day,  especially  in  mathematics,  a  woman  of  piety ,  industry 
and  taste,  and  trained  her  children  in  the  homely  virtues 
of  honesty,  economy,  industry  and  strict  moral  and  physi- 
cal integrity.  She  was  left  by  the  death  of  her  husband 
with  the  care  of  nine  children— one  having  previously  died 
—six  sons  and  three  daughters,  of  whom  Anna  was  the 
youngest,  and  died  in  1860,  at  the  age  of  86. 

With  such  ancestry  and  domestic  training,  it  was  not 
strange  that  she  should  inherit  something  of  the  practical 
energy,  principled  piety  and  love  of  learning  that  have  ever 
distinguished  the  puritan  character.  Her  early  life  was  a 
free  and  happy  one.  The  physical  surroundings  of  the 
home  in  which  her  childhood  was  spent,  were  such  as  to 


S   OF 

nurture  the  purest  and  best  sentiments,  and  awaken  that 
love  of  nature  which  is  not  only  a  perennial  spring  of 
happiness  but  a  sure  safeguard  of  the  moral  being.  The 
house  "  stood  on  a  high  elevation  surrounded  with  hills  and 
valleys,  with  the  Catskill  mountains  in  the  blue  distance 
at  the  east,  a  deep  valley  on  the  south,  and  far  beyond  rose 
hill  after  hill  with  curves  of  sky andchanging  cloud  between." 
On  the  west  was  a  deep  ravine  with  sheer  rocky  walls  over- 
hung with  trees  and  bushes  and  spanned  with  a  rustic 
bridge,  below  which  ran  a  clear  stream  of  rippling  water. 

Amidst  such  scenes  her  childhood  was  passed ;  u  often 
rambling  with  her  cousin  along  the  wild  ravine  to  gather 
moss  and  ferns,  wild  flowers  and  winter-green  berries,  or 
stopping  to  catch  the  tiny  fish,  with  pin  for  hook  and 
angleworm  for  bait;  or  climbing  a  long,  steep  hill  with 
winding  cow  path,  through  the  meadow  land  and  orchard 
to  the  old  mansion  with  its  sheds  and  barns,  its  long  well- 
sweep  and  oaken  bucket ;  and  near  by  the  trim  and  fenced 
garden  with  its  beds  of  pansies,  bachelors  buttons,  pinks 
and  caraway,  its  currant  and  gooseberry  bushes  and  its 
vegetables  of  every  name." 

Within  the  house  was  found  what  corresponded  with 
this  rustic  scenery.  "It  was  a  home  of  industry,  of  early 
morning  hours,  simplicity  in  living  and  the  abode  of  health, 
In  it  you  could  hear  the  loud  buzz  of  the  large  spinning- 
wheel  and  the  hum  of  the  smaller  one,  with  distaff  in  hand, 
or  the  clack  of  the  weaving  loom,  and  see  the  flying  shuttle 
and  the  varied  occupations  of  farm  life." 

She  was  sent  to  school  when  not  more  than  four  years 
old ;  and  the  daily  walk  through  summer's  heart  and  win- 
ter's cold,  over  steep  hills  and  through  valleys  and  plains 
one  mile  away  to  the  old  red  school-house,  stamped  im- 
pressions on  her  memory  more  indelible  than  those  made 
by  the  drilling  in  Webster's  Spelling  Book,  Morse's  Geogra- 
phy and  Murray's  Grammar,  which  she  'committed  from 
beginning  to  end  with  no  thought  of  its  value,'  or  scarcely 
of  its  meaning.  Daboll's  Arithmetic  was  finished  when 


ANNA  P.  SILL.  9 

about  thirteen  years  old  'with  the  aid  of  a  key.'  But 
what  was  more  valuable,  and  was  itself  a  key  to  higher 
wisdom,  she  was  taught  'reverence  to  teachers  and  to  all 
strangers  by  the  way  to  and  from  school.'  She  was  care- 
fully trained  in  all  household  duties,  including  spinning, 
weaving  and  setting  cards  for  carding  wool  and  tow.  She 
also  found  time  to  braid  bonnets  made  from  June  grass, 
and  for  some  kinds  of  embroidery. 

Thus  life  passed  in  those  early  years  between  school 
and  home  duties,  till  the  age  of  reflection  awoke  a  deeper 
longing  which  this  superficial  book-knowledge  and  even 
the  kindness  of  a  mother's  love  could  not  satisfy.  Intel- 
lect and  soul  both  awoke  from  their  dreams  with  a  dim 
but  earnest  presentiment  of  a  higher  life.  Her  mind '  craved 
better  school  advantages,'  and  her  soul  'cried  out  for  its 
God.'  She  'groped  in  the  dark  but  did  not  find  Him.' 
Her  cousin's  attainments  and  conversation  was  aconstant 
stimulus  and  inspiration,  but,  little  was  said  to  her  about 
being  a  Christian,  nor  did  she  care  to  talk  about  it.  Like 
most  thoughtful  children  of  .Christian  parents,  she  had 
been  the  subject  of  religious  impressions  in  very  early  life. 
"  I  could  not  remember  the  time  when  I  did  not  pray ;  and 
in  addition  to  'Now  I  lay  me,'  composed  a  prayer  of 
thanks  to  God  for  his  care  including  the  petition  that  God 
would  make  me  a  Christian  before  I  died.  Prayer  seemed 
to  be  innate  and  not  taught  to  me  by  others.  My  father 
was  Episcopal  in  preference,  and  one  of  the  first  books  I 
remember  to  have  read  aside  from  the  Bible  in  the  Sunday 
School  was  the  Episcopal  Prayer-book.  There  were  but 
few  books  in  our  library,  and  I  was  hungry  for  knowledge." 

With  these  hungerings  and  thirstings  after  knowledge 
and  religion,  "I  was  conscious  of  being  opposed  to  God's 
will.  lean  now  see  that  again  and  again  the  Spirit  of  God 
came  to  me  through  the  truth  and  urged  an  entire  surren- 
der of  all  to  Christ,  and  I  would  promise  to  myself  on  some 
definite  time  named  I  would  do  so,  and  thus  delay.  I  felt 
quite  willing,  as  I  thought,  to  go  on  a  painful  pilgrimage, 


10  MEMORIALS   OF 

if  that  would  make  me  a  Christian,  but  to  yield  my  heart 
to  do  all  the  duties  of  a  Christian  and  to  be  saved  by 
Christ  alone,  I  could  not.  If  I  must  be  lost  forever,  then  I 
will  be  rather  than  do  this.  *  *  *  Thus  1  passed 
along  until  in  my  fifteenth  year,  in  the  spring  of  1831." 

Here  this  interesting  autobiographical  fragment  ter- 
minates, and  for  the  remainder  of  her  personal  life  and 
experience,  only  brief  records  in  her  private  journals  and 
letters  are  afforded. 

It  is  known  that  the  year  1831,  was  memorable  in  the 
religious  history  of  the  country  for  powerful  and  wide- 
spread 'revivals;'  and  New  York  and  New  England  were 
swept  by  'a  wind  from  the  Holy  Spirit,'  which  seemed  to 
shake  whole  regions  and  brought  thousands,  as  on  the 
day  of  Pentecost,  to  enter  on  a  religious  life.  It  is  proba- 
ble, and  almost  inevitable,  that  so  earnest  and  spiritually 
susceptible  and  already  awakened  soul  would  be  effectually 
reached  and  swayed  by  such  an  influence,  and  that  she 
dated  her  real  conversion  from  this  year  of  grace  and 
salvation. 

Of  the  next  five  years  of  her  life  no  record  is  found,  but 
it  was  probably  spent  mostly  at  home  in  the  quiet  occu- 
pations of  domestic  industry  and  in  struggles  after  intel- 
lectual and  spiritual  progress,  aided  by  such  helps  as  home 
and  school  and  church  afforded.  One  result  is  very  ap- 
parent. Her  religious  life  and  experience  seems  to  have 
grown  to  a  remarkable  degree,  and  to  have  become  the 
absorbing  thought  and  element  of  her  being.  The  '  oppo- 
sition' of  which  she  was  conscious  previous  to  this  period, 
gave  way  to  a  submission  and  consecration  of  heart  and 
will  to  God,'  and  a  desire  to  be  used  in  His  service,  which  is 
rare  even  in  religious  biographies.  Self  seemed  henceforth 
to  be  laid  on  the  altar  of  sacrifice,  and  to  be  more  and 
more  consumed  in  its  flames.  This  will  be  more  manifest 
in  her  subsequent  life.  The  type  of  piety  thus  early  stamped 
upon  her  character  was  largely  due  to  the  revival  preach- 


ANNA   P.  SILL.  11 

ing  of  those  days  which  made  much  of  religious  experience, 
and  led  to  deep  searchings  of  heart,  and  which  manifested 
itself  chiefly  in  efforts  for  the  conversion  of  souls.  This 
deep,  earnest  and  spiritual  religion  characterized  her  to  the 
end ;  and  rarely  has  it  been  combined  with  such  unswerv- 
ing principle,  practical  wisdom,  radiant  cheerfulness  and 
winning  gentleness  as  in  her. 

She  left  Burlington  in  the  fall  of  1836,  when  about 
twenty  years  of  age,  and  taught  a  district  school  at  Barre, 
in  the  neighborhood  of  Albion,  for  about  seven  months, 
devoting  the  intervals  of  her  school  hours  to  other  employ- 
ments, such  as  spinning  and  weaving,  to  eke  out  the  slender 
wages  she  received  of  two  dollars  per  week,  and  obtain  the 
means  of  support  and  further  education.  About  six  weeks 
of  this  time,  during  the  school  vacation,  she  attended  a 
school  at  Albion,  and  in  November  1837,  entered  Miss 
Phipps'  Union  Seminary,  (one  of  the  first  female  institu- 
tions of  the  State),  as  a  permanent  scholar.  About  one 
year  later  we  find  her  employed  in  the  school  as  a  teacher, 
probably  persuing  her  studies  at  the  same  time.  Here  she 
remained  for  more  than  five  years,  till  July  1843. 

Her  success  both  as  pupil  and  teacher,  is  evinced  not 
only  in  the  high  rank  she  afterwards  attained  in  her  edu- 
cational work,  but  in  her  journals  and  letters  during  this 
period.  It  is  especially  interesting  to  trace  the  way  in 
which  Providence  was  preparing  her,  both  by  inward  con- 
flicts and  outward  trials  and  successes,  for  the  great  work 
of  her  life.  Her  consecration  and  whole-souled  devotion 
to  the  tasks  before  her,  and  her  prayerful  labors  for  the 
spiritual  interests  of  her  pupils  are  revealed  in  her  diary, 
as  a  sacred  fire  ever  burning  on  the  altar  of  her  soul ;  and 
she  records  with  tearful  gratitude  how  one  and  another, 
during  a  season  of  revival,  were  led  by  her  earnest  words 
to  seek  and  find  the  Saviour. 

The  early  part  of  the  last  year  at  Albion,  (1843),  was 
marked  by  a  great  mental  conflict  concerning  her  future 
work.  From  an  early  period  she  had  been  exercised  by  a 


12  MEMORIALS  OF 

strong  desire  to  devote  her  life  to  doing  good ;  but  in  what 
sphere  her  work  was  to  be,  she  had  no  definite  apprehen- 
sion, or  even  choice,  save  only  to  serve  God  in  serving  and 
blessing  humanity.  She  now  had  her  thoughts  directed 
anew  to  the  Foreign  Missionary  work,  as  that  which  she 
most  ardently  desired,  if  she  could  but  be  accounted  worthy 
of  such  a  calling.  In  a  letter  to  her  pastor,  Rev.  G.  W. 
Crawford,  to  whom  she  opened  her  heart  on  this  subject, 
she  says :  "I  think,  if  I  know  my  own  heart,  the  primary 
motive  which  led  me  to  acquire  an  education  was  that 
I  might  lay  it  at  the  Saviour's  feet,  and  thus  be  of  some 
service  to  his  cause."  And  the  intensity  of  her  feelings  is 
thus  expressed :  "I  have  hardly  dared  to  ask  my  Heavenly 
Father  so  great  a  privilege,  but  have  prayed  that  at  least 
I  might  be  permitted  after  death  to  go  as  a  ministering 
spirit  and  whisper  sweet  words  of  peace  to  some  poor 
heathen  soul." 

As  if  to  test  the  character  of  this  desire,  and  purify  it 
from  all  unpractical  enthusiasm,  an  opportunity  was  very 
soon  after  offered  her  of  going  as  companion  to  an  unmar- 
ried missionary  about  to  sail  in  a  few  months  for  India. 
The  result  was,  after  sufficient  time  for  acquaintance  and 
reflection  and  prayer  for  divine  guidance,  that  the  solici- 
tation was  declined 'and  she  decided  not  to  go — for  the 
present, — exemplifying,  what  is  not  always  the  case,  the 
exercise  of  that  womanly  instinct  and  practical  wisdom 
which  no  missionary  zeal  may  dispense  with  or  overrule, 
and  which  equally  with  religious  faith  and  devotion  should 
be  allowed  to  determine  the  question  as  to  the  will  of  God . 

Having  determined  to  leave  Albion,  in  hopes  of  finding 
a  field  of  still  greater  usefulness,  her  thoughts  were  turned 
toward  "The  West,"  as  a  field  of  missionary  and  educa- 
tional labor.  She  wrote  to  Rev.  Hiram  Foote,  then  in 
Racine,  Wisconsin,  with  whom  she  had  some  acquaint- 
ance, inquiring  if  he  knew  of  any  opening  for  such  work. 
"I  have  thought  perhaps  I  might  be  useful  as  a  teacher, 
and  if  possible  establish  a  female  seminary  in  some  of  the 


ANNA  P.  SILL.  13 

western  states.  Pecuniary  considerations  would  have  but 
little  influence  in  such  an  undertaking.  My  principal  object 
is  to  do  good." 

Not  receiving  any  favorable  reply — the  time  for  such 
an  enterprise  had  not  yet  come — she  went  alone  and  almost 
unfriended,  to  Warsaw,  and  there,  after  many  discourage- 
ments succeeded  in  opening  a  Seminary  for  young  ladies, 
October  2nd,  1843.  This  undertaking,  the  first  Seminary 
entirely  under  her  own  control,  she  speaks  of  in  a  letter  to 
Mr.  Crawford,  as  "succeeding  much  better  than  I  antici- 
pated, and  exceeding  entirely  the  most  sanguine  expecta. 
tionsof  my  friends."  Before  the  close  of  the  year,  the  school 
numbered  140  scholars.  She  continued  this  seminary 
about  two  and  a  half  years,  and  closed  it  in  March,  1846. 
It  is  not  known  what  reasons  determined  this  step,  but  it 
was  evidently  not  in  consequence  of  any  lack  of  outward 
prosperity.  Probably  a  want  of  spiritual  sympathy  in  her 
higher  religious  and  educational  aims  may  have  led  to  its 
discontinuance. 

In  August,  of  that  year,  after  much  anxious  thought 
and  inquiry  as  to  the  path  of  duty,  whether  to  go  to  the 
West,  or  to  offer  herself  to  the  Foreign  Missionary  field,  she 
was  invited  by  the  trustees  of  the  Gary  Collegiate  Institute, 
in  Oakfield,  Genesee  county,  to  take  charge  of  the  female 
department  in  Chat  institution.  This  invitation  she  ac- 
cepted, and  taught  there  as  preceptress  till  the  spring  of 
1849. 

But  scanty  record  is  made  in  her  journal  of  her  work 
at  Caryville;  but  the  school  is  described  as  'prosperous.' 
She  "had  the  care,  some  of  the  time,  of  about  eighty 
ladies;  had  probably  over  200  different  ones  under  my 
care.  During  the  winter  a  number  was  hopefully  converted 
in  my  bible-class." 

While  here,  she  had  many  applications  to  go  elsewhere; 
one  to  take  charge  of  the  Seminary  at  Albion,  and  also  to 
go  as  Principal  at  Le  Koy ;  'but  duty,  looking  at  the  pros- 
pect of  greater  good',  decided  her  course  to  remain  in 


14  MEMORIALS   OF 

Oak  field  another  year.  During  that  year  she  had  appli- 
cations from  Michigan,  Vermont,  Lockport,  and  again 
from  Le  Roy.  All  these  she  declined.  She  had  long  desired 
to  labor  in  a  more  '  destitute '  field ;  if  not  on  heathen  soil— a 
hope  which  she  cherished  to  the  last — among  the  wide  and 
more  uncultured  prairies  of  the  West.  And  this  desire  was 
now  about  to  be  fulfilled. 

Before  speaking  of  her  introduction  to  this  field,  it  may 
be  well  to  glance  briefly  at  the  preparation  which  Provi- 
dence was  making  for  her  advent  and  work. 

While  Miss  Sill  was  prosecuting  her  educational  work 
in  western  New  York,  the  pioneers  of  Christian  civilization 
in  the  Northwest  were  planning  how  to  carry  out  their 
views  of  higher  education  both  for  young  men  and  young 
women  by  establishing  collegiate  institutions  of  the  best 
New  England  type. 

The  co-education  of  the  sexes,  as  carried  on  at  Oberlin, 
had  not  at  that  time  proved  a  complete  success ;  nor  was 
the  idea  of  furnishing  exactly  the  same  education  for  both 
sexes  then  entertained.  The  diversity  in  mental  consti- 
tution and  in  the  sphere  of  life  and  employment  appointed 
to  each,  seemed  at  that  early  day  to  require  a  somewha.t 
different  curriculum  of  study  and  method  of  training,  for 
which  separate  institutions  were  demanded.  Accordingly 
they  resolved  after  a  series  of  conventions,  representing 
especially  the  Congregational  and  Presbyterian  ministers 
and  churches  of  the  Northwest,  to  establish  a  College  at 
Beloit,  Wisconsin,  and  a  Seminary  in  Northern  Illinois.  This 
was  afterwards  located  at  Rockford,  and  a  Board  of 
Trustees  was  elected  to  whom  was  committed  the  develop- 
ment and  care  of  both  institutions.  The  College  began  its 
corporate  existence  in  1845,  and  the  Seminary  in  1847, 
although  it  did  not  go  into  operation  until  a  few  years 
later. 

The  selection  of  a  Principal  for  such  a  Seminary  was  a 
work  involving  no  little  care  and  responsibility,  since  its 
success  would  be  largely  dependent  on  her  character  and 


ANNA   P.  SILL.  15 

ability.  But  Providence  had  wisely  prepared  the  way  and 
the  person. 

Friends  of  the  enterprise  in  Rockford,  who  had  heard 
of  Miss  Sill's  success  and  reputation  as  a  teacher,  promi- 
nent among  whom  was  the  Rev.  L.  H.  Loss,  then  pastor 
of  the  Congregational  Church,  wrote  to  her  concerning  the 
new  enterprise  and  invited  her  to  come  to  Rockford  and 
open  a  school  for  young  ladies  as  preparatory  to  the 
future  Seminary.  "  I  listened  to  the  call,"  she  writes  in  her 
journal,  "and  consented  to  leave  long  cherished  friends 
and  go.  I  bade  Caryville  farewell  May  10th. 

It  is  a  dear  spot." 

Her  motives  in  accepting  this  western  call  may  be 
gathered  from  what  has  gone  before.  It  opened  a  larger 
field  of  usefulness  than  any  she  had  heretofore  occupied. 
It  was  believed  to  be  a  missionary  work,  the  laying  of 
Christian  foundations  for  future  generations ;  and  it  was 
clearly  a  call  of  Providence,  in  answer,  as  it  seemed,  to  her 
earnest  prayers  for  guidance. 

She  reached  Rockford,  May  24th,  1849.  A  few  brief 
extracts  from  her  journal  may  here  be  interesting,  as 
affording  a  glimpse  into  the  past,  and  also  into  the  heart 
of  the  young  teacher. 

" May  29.  Sent  my  advertisement  to  the  press.  My 
success  is  yet  to  be  known,  for  '  my  times  are  in  the  hand 
of  the  Lord.'  I  trust  I  am  prepared  for  whatever  cup  He 
in  His  all-wise  providence  may  mingle.  May  I  but  glorify 
God  and  serve  humanity  while  I  live,  and  then  go  home. 

"July  11.  To-day  commenced  school,  and  laid  the 
foundation  of  Rockford  Female  Seminary.  Opened  with 
fifty- three  scholars.  0  Lord,  fit  me  for  rny  work  arid  glo- 
rify Thyself  thereby." 

"  12.  To-day  numbered  sixty  scholars.  Oh,  the  re- 
sponsibility of  teachers!  0  Lord,  aid  me." 

A  nearer  view  of  this  first  beginning  of  her  work  in 
Rockford  is  afforded  by  one  of  her  first  scholars,  who  thus 
recounts  her  reminiscence  of  Miss  Sill's  opening  day: 


10  MEMORIALS   OF 

"The  scholars  were  drawn  up  in  a  row  on  the  lawn  the 
first  day,  forming  a  gauntlet  of  happy  faces,  and  as  the 
teacher  passed  through,  each  gave  her  name.  After  they 
had  entered  the  room,  Miss  Sill  made  a  few  remarks  in 
which  she  said:  'Well,  well,  young  ladies,  this  is  like  the 
sunshine  of  this  beautiful  day,  dropping  light  into  our 
hearts.'  She  then  remarked  that  it  might  seem  strange  to 
them  to  find  one  from  the  East  away  out  in  t,he  West. 
She  came  there  for  a  purpose,  and  that  purpose  was  to 
establish  a  school  in  the  wild  Northwest.  The  children 
became  impressed  with  her  earnestness.  They  realized  that 
they  stood  in  the  presence  of  a  devout  Christian  woman. 
In  those  days  a  person  direct  from  the  East  commanded 
especial  respect.  The  fact  that  this  young  woman  came 
hundreds  of  miles  to  do  good  had  its  effect  upon  them,  and 
they  went  to  work  with  a  will.  The  discouragements  were 
manifold.  The  seats  were  low  and  uncouth  affairs,  and 
the  sun  came  in  from  the  unhidden  windows,  causing  much 
complaint.  But  the  teacher  had  an  iron  will.  She  opened 
a  modest  boarding-house,  and  with  the  funds  thus  gained 
improved  the  school-room,  bought  the  books  needed, 
placed  curtains  in  the  windows,  and  prevailed  upon  the 
scholars  to  supply  desks.  They  learned  to  love  her,  and 
to  this  day,  carry  her  image  in  their  hearts." 

A  few  months  later,  Nov.  4,  she  records  the  trial  she 
experienced  at  the  leaving  of  her  pastor,  who  had  been  her 
chief  counsellor  and  friend  in  this  land  of  strangers. 

"I  feel  that  I  shall  indeed  be  shut  up  to  the  faith,  and  left 
to  trust  in  God  alone  for  the  prosecution  of  this  work. 
And  thus  it  has  always  been  when  I  began  to  lean  on 
earthly  props.  I  feel  that  God  would  discipline  to  faith. 
My  desire  for  usefulness  is  an  insatiable  thirst  which  in- 
creases as  the  field  widens  before  me.  It  seems  to  nerve 
every  energy  of  my  being;  but  how  shall  I  obtain  the 
desired  object?  Oh,  for  more  holiness  of  heart,  for 
entire  consecration  to  God.  What  can  I,  a  feeble 
finite  creature  do?  I  feel  in  want  of  all  things.  How  much 


ANNA  P.  SILL.  17 

wisdom,  prudence,  zeal,  tempered  with  moderation,  is 
requisite  to  fill  my  station !  I  do  see  and  feel  the  leading, 
guiding  hand  of  my  Heavenly  Father  reached  down  to 
help,  and  this  does  sustain  me.  I  am  sure  of  this — yea,  as 
sure  as  though  it  were  visible  to  the  senses.  Then  what 
need  I  fear  though  He  take  away  all  earthly  support.  Only, 
0  God,  extend  my  influence  for  good;  make  me  more 
sacrificing,  more  prayerful,  more  and  more  devoted  to 
humanity." 

With  such  faith  and  heaven-kindled  aspirations  did 
Miss  Sill  enter  upon  her  work  in  Eockford ;  and  its  whole 
subsequent  history  shows  that  her  faith  was  not  delusion 
or  mere  enthusiasm,  but  that  there  was  a  Divine  guidance 
of  her  way  and  a  divinely  ordered  connection  between  the 
work  and  the  instrument. 

The  immediate  and  large  success  of  the  school,  which 
soon  outgrew  its  accommodations,  demonstrated  the  felt 
need  and  demand  for  higher  female  education  in  the  growing 
West,  and  it  was  very  soon  recognized  as  the  germ  and 
beginning  of  the  Rockford  Seminary. 

The  subscription  by  the  citizens  of  Rockford  of  over 
$5,000for  buildings,  and  the  pledge  by  the  ladiesof  $1,000 
more  for  the  beautiful  grounds  upon  which  the  Seminary 
now  stands,  together  with  the  school  in  such  successful 
operation,  were  all  that  was  needed  for  its  inauguration 
as  a  permanent  institution  for  the  higher  education  of 
young  women. 

In  1851,  the  first  class,  fifteen  in  number,  entered  upon 
their  course.  On  the  18th  of  July,  1852,  the  corner  stone 
of  the  first  edifice  was  laid  by  the  President  of  the  Board 
of  Trustees,  Rev.  Aratus  Kent,  of  Galena,  who  may  be 
called  the  father  of  the  Seminary,  since  to  him,  more  than 
any  other  man,  it  owed  its  inception  and  development. 
The  text  of  his  address :  "  That  our  daughters  may  be  as 
corner-stones  polished  after  the  similitude  of  a  palace," 
suggests  both  the  place  and  the  power  of  woman,  as  the 
essential  and  purifying  element  in  Christian  civilization, 


18  MEMORIALS  OF 

whose  center  is  the  home  and  whose  crown  is  righteousness 
and  love. 

Miss  Sill,  in  entering  on  her  life  work,  seems  to  have 
had  from  the  first  a  true  and  practical  idea  of  the  end  in 
view  and  the  work  to  be  accomplished.  This  is  evident 
from  the  manner  in  which  she  entered  upon  it  and  the 
steadiness  with  which  she  pursued  it.  She  had  intense 
sympathy  with  the  educational  work  of  Mary  Lyon,  and 
early  set  before  her  Mount  Holy oke  Seminary  as  the  model 
atfter  which  this  new  Western  Seminary  was  to  be  built. 
The  aims,  the  methods  and  the  whole  spirit  and  character 
of  the  former  were  adopted  by  the  latter,  and  there  was  a 
corresponding  energy  and  devotion  in  the  character  of  the 
two  women. 

There  was  a  remarkable  fitness  also  between  the  char- 
acter of  the  new  teacher  and  the  work  before  her.  The 
freshness,  enthusiasm  and  wholesome  vigor,  physical  and 
mental,  which  impressed  all  beholders,  and  was  a  constant 
inspiration  to  her  pupils,  found  a  congenial  element  in  the 
f  ree  air,  the  wide-sweeping  praries,  and  especially  in  the  fresh, 
ardent,  unsophisticated  minds  of  the  young  West,  unknown 
to  the  narrower  and  more  cultivated  fields  of  New  England. 
She  longed  to  meet  this  uprising  strength  and  eager  intel- 
lectual thirst  with  answering  strength  of  mind  and  heart, 
to  satisfy  this  craving  with  the  intellectual  and  moral 
culture  which  was  in  her  to  bestow. 

Above  all,  she  realized  the  immense  power  and  influence 
for  good  latent  in  the  young  women  of  the  West — the 
future  mothers  of  this  new  country,  and  she  yearned  to 
quicken  and  develope  this  power  of  womanhood  in  the 
interest  of  Christianity  and  humanity. 

The  ideas  which  she  sought  to  incorporate  in  her  work 
as  Principal,  and  which  became  the  organic  ideas  of  the 
institution,  were : 

(1.)  To  reach  especially  the  poorer  and  less  favored 
classes  of  young  women,  hitherto  debarred  from  the  higher 
education — farmer's  daughters  growing  up  in  their  wild 


ANNA  P.  SILL.  19 

beauty  like  the  prairie  flowers  that  bloom  around  them ; 
daughters  of  Home  Missionaries,  and  other  pioneers  who 
had  left  cultivated  homes  in  the  East  to  plant  Christian 
civilization  in  the  West. 

(2.)  To  combine,  to  a  limited  extent,  domestic  and 
industrial  training*  with  the  intellectual  culture  imparted 
by  classical  and  literary  study;  realizing  that  the  chief 
end  of  woman's  education  is  not  simply  to  shine  in  society, 
but  to  elevate  and  purify  and  adorn  the  home.  Hence, 
she  aimed  to  make  the  Seminary  in  the  truest  sense  an 
educational  home  where  certain  domestic  duties  were  daily 
required  of  every  pupil. 

(3.)  To  infuse  as  the  inmost  spirit  of  the  school, 
moral  and  religious  culture,  recognizing  what  should  be  a 
first  truth  in  every  educational  institution,  that  character 
is  the  end  of  knowledge,  and  the  culture  of  the  heart  is  the 
true  spring  of  all  intellectural  culture,  since  out  of  it  are 
the  issues  of  life ;  and  that  the  Bible  is  the  only  true  text- 
book of  practical  morality. 

(4.)  With  this,  and  as  the  blossoming  of  this  beauti- 
ful rod  of  culture — to  inspire  a  missionary  spirit,  or  a  spirit 
of  self-denying  benevolence  toward  all,  especially  the  igno- 
rant and  the  sinful ;  to  teach  the  great  Christian  lesson, 
that  the  true  end  of  life  is  not  to  acquire  the  most  good, 
whether  of  happiness  or  knowledge,  but  to  give  oneself 
most  fully  and  worthily  for  the  good  of  others. 

For  a  young  woman  of  brilliant  talents  and  rare  per- 
sonal attractions  to  consecrate  herself  to  such  an  aim  and 
ideal  as  this,  is  no  slight  commendation.  That  she  realized 
this  ideal  in  its  perfection,  would  be  too  much  to  affirm ;  but 
that  she  held  it  continually  before  her,  resisting  all  temp- 
tations to  lower  or  abandon  it,  that  Rockford  Female 
Seminary  became  what  it  was  and  is  under  her  guidance 
and  fostering  care,  is  her  enduring  praise  and  memorial. 

To  build  a  College  or  a  Seminary,  is  obviously  some- 
thing more  than  to  erect  its  walls,  or  to  furnish  a  place 
and  means  of  instruction.  Being  a  living  thing,  an  insti- 


20  MEMORIALS  OF 

tution,  and  not  a  mere  fact,  when  once  planted  it  must 
continue  to  grow  and  enlarge  its  life,  demanding  continu- 
ally increasing  resources,  or  it  will  fail  to  realize  its  true 
idea.  The  history  of  all  of  our  large  Colleges  and  Univer- 
sities illustrates  this.  It  would  have  been  a  comparatively 
easy  and  pleasant  thing,  when  the  new  Seminary  was  once 
started  and  put  in  running  order,  when  the  new  building 
was  finished  and  filled  with  pupils,  for  the  Principal  to 
have  given  herself  wholly  to  teaching,  and  superintending 
the  work  so  successfully  begun.  But  so  vigorous  was  the 
life  here  planted,  that  its  wants  soon  outgrew  its  resources, 
and  new  demands  for  additional  buildings  and  enlarged 
appliances  pressed  themselves  on  those  who  were  respon- 
sible for  its  maintenance.  But  the  burden  of  this  pressure, 
and  to  a  great  extent,  the  plans  and  the  executive  force 
needful  for  meeting  these  demands,  were  borne  and  sup- 
plied by  the  one  mind  and  will  at  the  center.  It  is  an  old 
proverb,  "  Where  there's  a  will  there's  a  way."  And  when 
that  will  is  a  woman's  will,  with  heart  and  purpose  and 
unfailing  energy  within  it,  and  Christian  patience  and  wis- 
dom to  support  and  guide  it,  the  way  will  not  be  long  in 
appearing.  It  belongs  to  the  history  of  the  Seminary  and 
of  its  first  Principal  to  say,  that  every  improvement  and 
enlargement  proposed  by  Miss  Sill  that  seemed  essential 
to  the  prosperity  and  normal  growth  of  the  institution, 
was  sooner  or  later  accomplished,  at  least  in  germ  and 
potency,  though  their  full  realization  may  await  the  com- 
ing time. 

In  this  age  of  progress  the  science  of  education  is  and 
must  be  progressive,  and  female  education,  a  birth  of  the 
present  century,  has  been  quick  to  catch  the  spirit  of  the 
age.  It  was  inevitable  that  the  idea  of  the  first  founders 
of  Holyokeand  Kockford  Seminaries,  limiting  and  defining 
the  education  of  woman  by  the  boundaries  separating  her 
'  sphere '  from  that  of  men,  should  be  enlarged  if  not  out- 
grown by  those  of  later  date,  which  tend  to  obliterate  and 
confuse  these  boundaries ;  and  that  the  scope  and  area  of 


ANNA  P.  SILL.  21 

female  education  should  thus  be  enlarged  and  assimilated 
to  that  of  other  Colleges.  The  change  of  name,  now  so 
common,  from  'Seminary'  to  ' College,'  is  a  significant 
indication  of  this  tendancy.  Miss  Sill  early  perceived,  if 
she  did  not  share,  this  tendency,  and  wisely  prepared  for 
its  ingress.  The  progressive  aims  she  had  ever  cherished 
were  stimulated  by  the  rise  of  other  female  Colleges  richly 
endowed  and  offeringthe  highest  educational  advantages, 
especially  those  of  Vassar  and  Smith  and  Wellesley.  The 
problem  before  her  and  before  the  Trustees,  was  how  to 
preserve  the  original  idea  and  aim  of  the  Seminary,  as  an 
institution  of  the  highest  order  for  all,  but  especially  for 
young  women  of  slender  means  (requiring  therefore  the 
terms  of  board  and  tuition  to  be  kept  as  low  as  possible), 
and  also  to  raise  the  standard  of  education  to  the  advanced 
and  advancing  level  of  other  competing  Colleges.  This 
problem  was  practically  solved  by  providing  a  full  Collegi- 
ate course,  similar  to  that  of  the  best  Colleges,  for  those 
who  were  able  or  wished  to  take  it,  while  a  Seminary  course, 
less  advanced  in  respect  to  the  higher,  (or  rather  more 
extended)  classical  and  mathematical  studies,  but  better 
adapted  to  the  ordinary  needs  and  tastes  of  those  for 
whom  the  Seminary  was  specially  founded,  should  be  con- 
tinued ;  which,  requiring  less  time  and  expense,  would 
meet  a  larger  and  more  practical  demand.  Thus  the  true 
idea  and  basis  of  the  institution  is  preserved,  as  is  witnessed 
in  the  preservation  of  the  name,  Seminary ;  while  it  furnishes 
all  the  advantages  of  a  College  for  those  who  desire  them. 
It  remains  to  be  seen  in  the  future,  whether  this  less 
ambitious  character  of  a  Seminary  for  Young  Ladies,  to  fit 
them  most  thoroughly  for  the  sphere  in  which  most  women 
are  called  to  act,  is  not  a  better  and  more  practical  solu- 
lutiou  of  the  educational  problem,  than  those  of  higher 
name  and  pretension,  which  aim  to  compete  in  all  respects 
with  Colleges  for  young  men.  Since  too,  the  Universities 
are  now  opening  their  doors  for  the  admittance  of  women, 
the  question  may  be  asked,  whether  these  older  and  more 


22  MEMORIALS  OF 

amply  endowed  institutions  may  not  furnish  more  richly 
all  those  special  opportunities  of  advanced  science  and 
arts  which  comparatively  few  women  care  to  pursue,  leav- 
ing our  Seminaries  with  their  more  secluded  and  domestic 
but  not  less  studious  atmosphere,  to  train  the  young 
women  of  the  future  for  the  high  and  sacred  if  less  public 
duties  of  their  calling. 

From  this  ideal  survey  of  the  character  and  aims  of 
the  Institution,  we  now  return  to  the  practical  work  and 
difficulties  involved  in  their  realization. 

The  first  few  years  of  the  Semi  nary —what  may  be  called 
its  nursing  period— like  that  of  other  children,  were  years 
of  weakness  and  peril;  and  nothing  but  the  assiduous 
care,  the  untiring  zeal  and  energy,  and  the  wise  and  self 
sacrificing  motherhood  of  Miss  Sill  could  have  carried  it 
safely  through.  The  inward  life  of  the  institution  was 
strong  and  vigorous  from  the  first,  but  the  means  for 
sustaining  this  life  and  the  building  up  of  its  body  were 
scanty  and  hard  to  obtain. 

In  June,  1852,  the  corner  stone  of  the  first  Seminary 
building  was  laid,  and  it  was  completed  in  the  fall  of  1853. 
It  was  at  once  filled  to  overflowing,  some  four  or  five  occu- 
pying a  single  room,  and  about  one  hundred  applications 
were  refused .  The  resources  of  Rockf ord  seemed  exhausted , 
at  least  of  the  few  who  were  able  or  willing  to  give,  and 
means  for  enlargement  must  be  obtained,  or  the  enterprise 
ignominiously  fail.  Meanwhile  Miss  Sill's  health  was  giving 
way  under  the  accumulated  pressure,  and  she  was  con- 
strained to  go  East  in  December,  1853,  for  the  double  pur- 
pose of  recruiting  her  strength  and  obtaining  funds.  She 
visited  Boston  and  other  centers  of  wealth  and  influence,and 
returned  in  the  summer  of  1854,  having  secured  some 
$5,000.  With  this  the  foundation  of  another  building  was 
laid,  which  was  erected  slowly  and  'in  troublous  times.' 
Money  was  borrowed  to  complete  it,  the  debt  being  secured 
by  mortgage  on  the  property.  Repeated  efforts  were  made 
to  raise  funds  in  the  West,  and  the  amount  of  $10,000  was 


ANNA  P.  SILL.  23 

pledged,  to  be  paid  in  annual  installments,  a  large  part  of 
which  Miss  Sill  secured  by  personal  effort.  A  few  years  later 
another  effort  was  made  to  pay  the  debt  and  enlarge  the 
accommodations.  So  great  was  the  necessity,  that  the 
teachers  from  their  own  meager  salaries  pledged  f  1,000  of 
the  $20,000  needed.  Appeals  were  sent  out  to  friends  of 
Christian  education,  and  Miss  Sill  again  visited  New  Eng- 
land and  secured  funds  for  the  completion  of  another 
building,  a  much  needed  Chapel  with  connecting  wings. 

This  page  from  the  early  history  of  the  Seminary  may 
indicate  a  few  of  the  difficulties  and  struggles  under  which 
the  institution  labored  and  grew  in  its  earlier  years ;  and 
in  all  these  struggles  and  burdens  she  bore  a  personal  and 
principal  part.  It  may  be  truly  said  of  her  that  she 
builded  her  life  into  the  walls  of  the  Seminary  as  well  as 
into  the  character  and  lives  of  the  pupils. 

During  these  years  of  labor  and  often  of  trial  and  dis- 
couragement, and  while  burdened  with  the  business  cares 
of  the  institution,  she  not  only  continued  the  personal  in- 
struction of  her  classes,  and  superintended  the  whole 
management  of  the  school,  but  she  took  an  active  and 
often  a  leading  part  in  the  social  and  religious  life  of  the 
community,  attending  regularly  the  prayer  meetings  and 
other  meetings  of  the  Church,  teaching  a  Bible-class  in  the 
Sabbath  School,  mingling  in  social  circles  and  contributing 
her  personal  influence  to  every  good  movement  and  under- 
taking. She  was  felt  to  be  a  power  for  good,  not  only  in 
the  immediate  circle  of  her  influence  but  everywhere. 

That  she  was  able  to  accomplish  and  endure  so  much 
without  fatigue  or  failure,  is  one  of  those  marvels  in  human 
life  which  we  sometimes  witness,  where  the  greater  and 
more  multiplied  the  labors  undertaken,  the  greater  the 
facility  and  success  with  which  they  are  performed. 

One  reason  of  this  may  be  found  in  her  rare  combina- 
tion of  physical,  intellectual  and  spiritual  endowments. 
Her  physical  constitution  was  sound  and  strong,  and 
inured  to  labor  by  early  training  and  constant  exercise. 


24  MEMORIALS  OF 

Her  mind  and  spirit  was  elastic  and  free,  open  to  all  the 
inspirations  as  well  as  the  pressures  and  burdens  of  life. 
in  a  letter  written  from  Boston  in  1865,  while  engaged  in 
her  '  mission '  to  the  East,  she  writes : 

"Just  fancy  me  in  the  'Hub  of  the  Universe, 'the  center 
of  all  right  motion,  the  sun  of  civilization,  enlightenment 
and  refinement — and  one  of  the  '  Western  Beggars.'  Do 
you  envy  me,  or  do  you  pity  me?'  One  thing 

I  am  resolved  to  do,  that  is,  to  make  just  as  much  happi- 
ness and  refreshment  out  of  the  effort  as  may  be.  God  has 
given  me  the  safety-valve  in  my  temperament  of  suscepti- 
bility to  the  ludicrous,  and  has  also  made  me  hopeful.  I 
find  occasion  for  the  exercise  of  these  faculties,  sometimes 
quite  to  my  relief,  like  rays  of  sunshine  coming  through 
misty  clouds." 

Her  character  and  success  as  a  teacher  may  be  in  part 
explained  by  this  happy  combination  of  qualities.  The 
wholesome  vigor  of  her  mind  and  heart,  expressed  strongly 
yet  kindly  in  her  bright  and  cheery  presence,  her  clear  mu- 
sical voice  and  kindling  eye,  penetrated,  quickened  and 
inspired  her  pupils,  so  that  her  teachings  were  not  words 
or  ideas  simply,  but  spirit  and  life.  This  subtle,  magnetic 
and  personal  power  was  exercised  also  in  her  government, 
a  power  which  many  teachers  lack.  A  testimonial  from 
one  who  knew  her  as  a  teacher  in  Western  New  York, 
speaks  of  her  having  "won  for  herself  an  enviable  reputa- 
tion as  an  able  and  accomplished  teacher,  and  at  the  same 
time  an  uncommon  tact  at  managing  and  controlling 
those  under  her  care,  possessing  the  faculty  of  governing 
those  committed  to  her  charge,  while  the  pupils  themselves 
do  not  seem  to  realize  they  are  controlled." 

But  perhaps  her  greatest  power  and  success  as  a  teacher 
lay  not  in  her  intellectual  or  moral  discipline,  but  in  her 
influence  over  the  character  of  her  pupils.  Recognizing 
that  the  springs  of  character  lie  not  in  the  intellect  or  the 
forms  of  conduct,  but  in  the  heart,  her  first  and  deepest 
concern  was  for  their  spiritual  culture  through  the 
power  of  religious  truth.  And  here,  too,  it  was  preemi- 


ANNA  P.  SILL.  25 

nently  true  that  "It  is  the  Spirit  that  quickeneth,"  and 
not  the  mere  word  or  doctrine,  though  the  Bible  was  a 
daily  text-book.  The  spirit  of  the  teacher,  imbued  with 
the  spirit  and  love  of  the  Saviour  of  souls,  was  the  medium 
of  a  quickening  and  saving  power  to  nearly  all  who  came 
under  her  influence,  so  that  she  was  able  to  say  in  a  letter 
to  a  benefactor,  in  May,  1865:  "There  has  not  been  a 
year,  nor  one  term  of  the  year,  without  hopeful  conver- 
sions, so  that  we  hope  several  hundred  have  found  peace 
in  believing." 

This  manifold  and  marvelous  success  in  the  various 
departments  of  her  work  was  not  unappreciated  by  those 
who  had  the  clearest  and  truest  insight  into  the  character 
of  this  work. 

One  whose  words  were  never  fulsome  or  insincere,  and 
who  stood  in  closest  relation  to  the  Seminary,  wrote  to 
her  in  1864,  for  her  encouragement : 

"I  do  but  embody  what  has  ever  been  my  feeling, 
and  what  I  regard  as  the  common  sentiment  of  the 
community,  that  your  laborsand  successes  have  called 
forth  the  approbation  and  admiration  of  all  who 
have  traced  the  history  of  the  Seminary. 

As  a  Christian  minister,  I  can  only  admire 
and  wonder  that  in  addition  to  the  intellectual  culture 
wrought,  there  should  have  been  such  an  amount  of  moral 
and  evangelical  influence  brought  to  bear  upon  that  buzzing 
hive  of  young  ladies  drawn  together  from  so  wide  a  district. 
It  is  humiliating  to  me  to  reflect  that  I  have  done,  and  am 
doing  so  little  to  bring  sinners  to  a  reconciliation  with 
God,  in  comparison  with  the  success  which  has  uniformly 
crowned  your  efforts." 

It  would  of  course,  be  impossible  to  trace  or  measure 
the  influence  for  good  which  Miss  Sill  has  exerted  through 
the  pupils  she  has  educated  and  trained  for  usefulness 
during  the  thirty-five  years  she  was  Principal  of  the  Semi- 
nary. Of  the  thousands  who  have  gone  from  its  halls,  a 
large  proportion  have  been  teachers,  scattering  the  seeds 
of  truth  and  character  which  they  received.  Nearly  all 
have  become  wives  and  mothers,  diffusing  sweetness  and 


26  MEMORIALS  OF 

light  in  thousands  of  homes ;  while  many  have  gone  to 
heathen  shores  as  missionaries,  carrying  the  gospel  in  their 
hearts  and  characters,  as  well  as  in  their  hands. 

The  relation  of  Kockford  Seminary  to  the  Foreign  Mis- 
sionary field,  is  perhaps  not  often  considered,  but  it  was 
one  very  close  to  the  heart  of  its  principal  and  founder; 
and  the  prayers  and  aspirations  of  her  younger  days  were 
answered  in  a  way  that  then  she  little  anticipated.  In  a 
letter  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  William  E.  Dodge,  written  Nov. 
1865,  she  relates  some  of  her  personal  history  and  early 
struggles  for  an  education  that  she  might  become  a  Mis- 
sionary :  "I  asked  my  Heavenly  Father  that  if  I  was  not 
permitted  to  enter  the  foreign  field,  I  might  see  one  of  my 
pupils  go  in  my  stead.  And  one  of  our  first  class  that 
graduated  went  to  India.  Since  that  time  we  have  been 
represented  in  Jamaica,  W.  I.,  in  China,  in  Egypt,  in 
Burmah  (by  a  teacher),  in  Constantinople,  in  Turkey  and 
Micronesia."  Who  can  doubt  that  the  motto  of  her  life — 
"the  greatest  good,"  has  been  abundantly  and  wonder- 
fully fulfilled  ? 

These  life-offerings  from  Rockford  Seminary  to  the 
cause  of  Missions  were  not  sporadic  or  without  antecedent 
causes.  The  spirit  of  Christian  benevolence  and  self-denial 
for  the  good  of  others  was  not  only  inspired  in  the  institu- 
tion by  the  influence  and  example  of  its  Principal,  and 
inculcated  as  a  duty  specially  required  of  woman,  if  she 
would  fill  worthily  her  sphere,  but  was  practically  culti- 
vated by  Missionary  Societies,  whose  object  was  both 
auxiliary  and  educational.  As  a  result,  during  a  single 
year — 1864 — when  special  efforts  were  in  progress  for  the 
enlargement  of  the  Seminary  and  the  payment  of  its  debt, 
when  the  war  was  draining  the  resources  of  the  country 
and  most  of  the  pupils  were  poor,  $353  was  contributed 
to  Foreign  Missions;  $369  to  the  Christian  and  Sani- 
tary Commissions  in  behalf  of  the  soldiers;  $50  to 
the  Freedmen,  besides  $1,000  pledged  to  the  Semi- 
nary, of  which  $321  was  paid;  making  a  total  of 


ANNA  P.  SILL.  27 

benevolences  for  the  year,  of  $1,093.  With  such  sacri- 
ficial offerings  did  this  young  institution,  with  scarcely  the 
means  of  self-subsistence,  consecrate  itself  and  its  work  of 
education  to  the  cause  of  Christ  and  humanity. 

We  have  said  that  most  of  the  pupils  who  came  to  the 
Seminary,  were  poor,  or  at  least  in  very  moderate  circum- 
stances ;  and  the  design  of  the  institution  was  to  afford  to 
such  the  advantages  of  higher  education.  Hence,  the 
terms  of  tuition  and  of  board,  and  also  the  salaries  of  the 
teachers,  were  kept  as  low  as  could  consist  with  the 
necessary  expenses  and  the  high  standard  of  education 
proposed.  Great  reduction  was  made  to  the  daughters  of 
Home  and  Foreign  Missionaries.  But  notwithstanding 
this,  many  came  who  were  unable  to  continue  and  com- 
plete their  education  without  assistance.  For  such,  Miss 
Sill  had  special  sympathy,  and  freely  gave  of  her  ability, 
and  beyond  her  ability,  when  other  aid  was  wanting. 
Through  her  efforts  an  Education  Society  was  formed  at 
an  early  day  by  the  ladies  of  Rockford,  as  a  much  needed 
form  of  Christian  benevolence.  Among  the  papers  of  Miss 
Sill  is  found  one  entitled,  "  A  Memorial  to  the  Rockford 
Female  Education  Society,"  the  date  of  which  is  not  given, 
but  which  bears  evidence  of  having  been  written  at  a  very 
early  period  in  its  history.  A  few  extracts  from  this  paper 
will  show  her  deep  personal  sympathy  with  its  object, 
and  the  wisdom  of  her  views  regarding  the  practical 
value  of  female  education : 

"From  the  commencement  of  this  Institution,  I  have 
frequently  met  with  those  who  are  very  anxious  to  be 
educated,  but  cannot  command  the  means.  With  tearful 
eyes  they  have  repeated  again  and  again — 'I  do  want  an 
education,  but  lam  poor; 'or,  'I  do  feel  I  must  be  educated, 
I  want  to  be  useful  in  the  world.'  '  I  want  to  do  good ;  it 
is  all  I  want  to  live  for,  I  have  no  one  to  look  to ;  what 
shall  I  do  ?  Can  you  take  me  and  wait  until  I  can  teach  ?' 
How  could  I  listen  to  such  a  request  without  sympathy- 
deep  sympathy?  How  could  I  say  'No!'  How  could  I 
turn  away  one  thirsting  for  knowledge,  that  she  might  be 
fitted  for  more  usefulness,  when  the  tear  and  sigh  added 


28  MEMORIALS  OF 

eloquence  to  the  appeal?  I  say,  how  could  I,  with  the 
Golden  Rule  before  me?  T  could  only  say  to  such,  'You 
may  be  educated  if  you  will',  go  on,  trust  in  God,  and  the 
way  will  open  before  you.'  For  two  years  I  said  nothing 
to  others,  but  aided  this  class  of  scholars  as  far  as  prac- 
ticable, keeping  all  within  my  own  heart,  being  fully  aware 
of  the  state  of  public  opinion  regarding  the  importance  of 
systematic,  thorough  female  education,  and  consequently 
that  it  would  be  difficult  to  obtain  aid  for  those  in  indigent 
circumstances,  and  that  our  organization  for  this  purpose 
might  not,  and  probably  would  not,  meet  with  as  much 
public  favor  as  other  benevolent  enterprises.  I  feel  called 
upon,  therefore  to  state  more  fully  my  whole  views  to 
this  point. 

"Looking  first  at  some  of  the  objections  which 
may  arise  to  this  form  of  benevolence:  It  may  be 
urged  that  there  is  no  need  of  so  thorough  and  system- 
atic education  of  young  ladies  to  fit  them  for  extensive 
usefulness  unless  they  purpose  to  make  a  business  of  teach- 
ing; that  woman's  sphere  is  primarily  in  the  domestic 
department,  in  the  family  circle.  I  reply,  woman's  sphere 
is  in  the  home-circle,  truly,  primarily  so,  and  that  is  why  I 
would  have  her  educated,  thoroughly  and  systematically 
educated,  for  this  her  heaven-appointed  orbit,  that 
she  may  be  qualified  to  perform  the  duties  and  to  meet 
the  responsibilities  of  this  sphere.  Is  not  woman  the 
presiding  genius  in  the  family  circle,  the  fixed  center  of  at- 
traction to  the  family  'solar  system/  controlling  and 
regulating  the  movement  of  all  the  planets ;  and  is  it  not 
necessary  that  her  habits  of  thought  be  such  as  will  enable 
her  to  perfectly  systematize  the  family  life  ?  Who  that  has 
ever  resided  in  a  family  where  order  was  wanting,  each 
acting  under  the  impulse  of  the  present  moment,  regard- 
less of  the  wants  or  wishes  of  others,  has  not  been  reminded 
of  the  chaos  of  nature  when  all  things  were  without  form 
and  void,  and  darkness  was  upon  the  face  of  the  deep?  or 
perhaps  of  the  tower  of  Babel,  after  the  confusion  of  tongues. 
Does  not  the  guide  of  a  household  need  discipline  to  patient 
endurance,  that  she  may  cheerfully  meet  the  many  petty 
trials  incident  even  to  the  best  regulated  families  ?  Now 
what  will  better  induce  the  habit  of  order,  or  better  disci- 
pline the  mind  to  patience,  than  a  systematic,  thorough 
education,  developing  aright  all  the  powers  of  the  mind  ? 
Do  I  hear  you  say,  'I  have  seen  well  regulated  families 


ANNA  P.  SILL.  20 

without  what  you  call  a  systematic  education  of  the 
mother?'  I  reply,  we  may  differ  upon  the  point  as  to 
what  constitutes  a  well-regulated  family.  Can  that  family 
be  called  well-regulated  whose  arrangements  do  not  recog- 
nize the  whole  of  our  nature,  as  physical,  intellectual,  social 
and  religious  beings ;  where  proper  time  is  not  allotted 
daily  to  the  cultivation  of  each  department  of  our  being? 
Who  has  the  power  to  give  fche  faculties  a  right  direction 
in  the  morning  of  life,  as  the  mother?  How  few  realize  the 
extent  of  the  moulding  influence  of  a  mother  upon  the 
maturing  character !  Does  she  not  daguerreotpye  her  own 
characteristics  of  mind  and  heart  indelibly  on  the  plastic 
mind  of  childhood  ?  Who  is  so  well  qualified  to  make  home 
a  paradise  as  a  well  educated  lady  at  the  head  of  the  house- 
hold? 

"Again,  though  this  is  her  peculiar  sphere,  her  prov- 
ince is  not  limited  to  the  home-circle;  her  influence  will  be 
felt  in  whatever  circle  she  may  move,  scattering  around 
her  the  sunbeams  of  virtue  and  cheerfulness  and  ever  win- 
ning grace.  With  her  own  mind  expanded  and  liberalized, 
she  is  prepared  to  guide  others, 

"Again,  it  is  said,  'If  weeducate  all  our  young  women, 
where  shall  we  find  domestics?'  I  reply,  if  they  be  rightly 
educated,  they  will  be  better  fitted  for  the  work  of  this 
department ;  and  if  they  are  not  educated  for  this  depart- 
ment, their  education  is  radically  deficient.  * 
Do  we  not  deny  to  young  women  their  lawful  rights,  when 
we  do  not  providefor  their  education?  A  young  man  who 
desires  to  do  good  in  the  world,  and  needs  a  preparatory 
mental  discipline,  is  taken  under  the  fostering  care  of  the 
Church  of  Christ  and  aided  by  the  Education  Society. 
That  is  all  right — just  as  it  should  be.  And  why,  I  ask, 
should  not  the  same  privilege  be  granted  to  our  own  sex? 
Especially  when  a  young  man  can  help  himself  to  means 
so  much  betterthana  young  wo  man,  whose  labor  is  valued 
so  much  less.  Why?  I  again  ask.  Is  not  the  answer 
found  in  the  estimate  made  of  educated  female  influence? 
But  who  makes  the  most  permanent  impressions  on  the 
youthful  character,  the  father  or  the  mother?  And  the 
education  of  which  should  be  neglected,  if  either?  I  ans- 
wer, not  that  of  the  mother,  who  is  emphatically  the  most 
responsible  teacher  in  the  world. 

*  -X-  «•  *  #  * 

"If  I  rightly  understand  the  design  of  the  founders  of 


30  MEMORIALS  OF 

the  Rockford  Fernale  Seminary,  it  is  this.  First— That  an 
Institution  shall  be  built  up  furnishing  advantages  to  our 
own  sex  equal  to  the  College,  or  as  that  furnished  to  the 
other  sex.  Second— To  bring  the  expenses  so  low  that  all 
classes  shall  be  able  to  avail  themselves  of  its  privileges. 
Third—  That  the  property  of  the  Institution  belong  to 
the  public ;  that  it  be  not  local  simply  in  its  interests  and 
influence,  but  a  public  benefit.  Fourth — That  it  shall  be 
founded  by  benevolent  contributions  from  the  Christian 
public,  consecrated  to  the  work  of  doing  good  to  the  world 
— an  object  for  the  prayers  of  all  who  love  the  diffusion  of 
truth  in  its  highest  forms. 

"  Who  would  not  rejoice  to  aid  in  hastening  that  day  when 
'  knowledge  shall  cover  the  earth  as  the  waters  cover  the 
sea?'  How  much,  then, is  yet  to  be  done ;  and  'the  labor- 
ers are  few.'  And  shall  these  few,  now  in  the  Seminary,  who 
would  live  for  a  Avorld,  be  hindered  for  want  of  aid,  from 
doing  the  work  they  so  much  desire  to  do?  I 

can  but  trust  in  God,  that  aid  will  come  from  some  quar- 
ter; and  they  who  shall  give  a  cup  of  cold  water  to  a. 
disciple,  in  the  name  of  Christ,  shall  not  lose  their  reward." 


It  would  transcend  the  limits  and  the  design  of  this 
memoir  to  write  the  whole  history  of  Rockford  Seminary, 
or  of  the  entire  life  and  labors  of  Miss  Sill  in  connection 
with  it,  Such  a  history  would  require  adequate  mention 
of  the  many  devoted  and  accomplished  teachers  who 
entered  into  and  aided  her  in  her  work  with  like  consecra- 
tion and  self-sacrificing  spirit — some  of  whom  now  rest 
from  their  labors ;  of  the  efficient  and  faithful  Trustees, 
who  stood  by  her  in  her  trials  and  discouragements,  stay- 
ing her  hands  and  giving  freely  of  their  time  and  counsels 
and  help,  to  build  the  Institution  of  which  they  were  the 
guardians ;  and  of  the  many  hundreds  of  pupils  who  have 
gone  out  from  this  cherishing  mother,  some  to  fill  places 
of  honor  and  distinction,  and  all,  places  of  usefulness  and 
Christian  service,  in  the  homes,  or  the  schools,  or  the 
sanctuaries  of  the  land. 

All  that  will  be  attempted  further,  is  to  gather  and 
group  together  a  few  last  things ;  to  watch  the  clouds  as 


ANNA  P.  SILL.  31 

they  gather  with  'sober  coloring'  around  the  setting  sun, 
and  the  declining  shadows  as  they  fold  in  the  tranquil 
evening  of  her  life. 

It  is  said  of  one  of  England's  greatest  men,  that  'nothing 
so  became  his  life  as  the  leaving  of  it.'  To  leave  a  life,  that 
has  been  filled  with  honorable  and  useful  labor,  gracefully 
and  well,  leaving  behind  it  nothing  to  regret,  is  a  rare  and 
beautiful  thing.  Especially  to  leave  the  active  labors  of 
such  a  life  before  the  time  of  rest  has  come,  and  retire  to  a 
private  sphere  while  the  consciousness  of  strength  and  the 
enthusiasm  of  mental  activity  and  ability  is  still  felt— this 
is  still  rarer  and  more  difficult,  and  requires  more  of 
Christian  grace  and  humility.  And  yet  nature  teaches  this 
lesson  in  many  of  her  parables.  The  summer,  while  yet  in 
the  glory  and  fulness  of  its  foliage,  and  while  its  flowers 
are  still  in  bloom,  ceases  from  its  labors  of  growth,  and 
enjoys  a  Sabbath  of  rest  and  stillness,  unbroken  but  by  the 
plaintive  chirp  of  the  cricket,  telling  that  autumn  has 
come.  And  the  later  ripening  of  the  golden  October  fruits, 
and  the  fading  and  the  falling  of  the  rainbow-tinted  leaves, 
is  only  a  revelation  of  the  hidden  glories,  the  sweetness 
and  beauty  of  the  life  that  has  accomplished  its  work,  and 
patiently  waits  to  be  garnered. 

In  the  summer  of  1884,  after  thirty-five  years  of  active 
and  unremitting  and  successful  labor,  Miss  Sill  resigned  her 
position  as  Principal  of  the  Seminary,  and  retired  to  the 
more  quiet,  but  not  less  honored  position  of  Principal 
Emerita.  She  had  long  contemplated  this  step  as  inevi- 
table, from  her  advancing  years  and  the  increasing  de- 
mands of  the  Institution  on  her  time  and  thought  and 
labor;  and  the  way  for  such  a  transition— almost  always  a 
difficult  and  embarrassing  one — had  been  thoughtfully 
prepared  for  her  by  her  pupils. 

Several  years  previously,  the  Alumnae  of  the  Seminary 
had  raised  by  subscription  among  themselves,  aided  by 
other  friends  of  the  Seminary,  a  fund  of  $10,000,  which 
was  afterwards  increased  to  $12,000,  called  the  'Sill 


32  ANNA  P.  SILL. 

Endowment  Fund,'  the  income  of  which  was  to  be  ap- 
propriated to  her  support  during  her  life,  and  afterwards 
go  to  the  endowment  of  the  chair  of  the  Principal  of  the 
Seminary.  This  was  now  sacredly  applied  to  the  use  for 
which  it  was  raised.  Her  own  rooms  in  the  Semimary 
were  reserved  for  her  exclusive  use  and  occupancy,  and 
that  which  had  been  her  home  of  labor  for  so  many 
years  was  still  to  be  her  home  of  rest  so  long  as  she  might 
live,  or  desire  it. 

That  this  retirement  from  the  activities  and  occupation 
of  a  life-time,  though  unavoidab  leand  voluntary,  should 
be  a  severe  trial  to  Miss  Sill,  was  inevitable  from  the 
constitution  and  quality  of  her  mind.  She,  whose  life 
was  labor  and  whose  joy  was  imparting  and  doing 
good,  to  find  herself,  with  nothing  to  do;  she  whose 
mind  and  will  had  been  the  directing  and  moving  force  of 
the  Institution  which  she  had  founded  and  built  up,  to  quiet- 
ly resign  her  place  and  power  to  others ;  she  who  had  taught 
for  more  than  forty- five  years,  and  had  lived  surrounded 
by  a  circle  of  admiring  and  devoted  pupils,  to  live  hence- 
forth outside  the  circle,  a  passive  spectator,  and  no  longer 
the  center,  of  this  young  and  growing  life— was  perhaps 
the  hardest  and  severest  trial  of  her  life.  But  she  met  it 
with  rare  fortitude  and  serenity.  She  accepted  the  situa- 
tion, as  she  had  all  others  where  Providence  had  placed 
her,  as  that  which  her  Heavenly  Father  had  appointed, 
and  therefore  what  was  best.  But  her  interest  in  the 
Seminary,  as  the  child  of  her  love  and  care,  suffered  no 
abatement,  and  she  still  sought  diligently  to  know  how 
she  could  best  promote  its  welfare  and  do  good  to  the 
young  minds  and  hearts  she  could  no  longer  control  and 
teach. 

She  had  taken  much  interest  in  the  growth  of  the  Art 
department,  then  and  still  in  its  infancy ;  and  some  of  her 
friends  proposed  to  her  a  European  tour,  for  the  double 
purpose  of  recreation  and  health  and  of  collecting  pictures 
for  an  Art  gallery.  But  the  way  did  not  seem  to  be  open, 


ANNA  P.  SILL.  33 

and  the  tour  and  collection  was  left  for  other  teachers, 
while  she  gave  herself  to  more  quiet,  domestic  occu- 
pations. 

.  Another  department  which  she  had  long  hoped  to  sec 
provided  for — a  gymnasium,  she  now  had  the  happiness  of 
seeing  realized  in  su  bstantial  form .  A  building  was  erected 
for  this  purpose  in  the  rear  of  the  Seminary  Chapel  and 
amply  furnished  and  equipped  with  all  the  modern  appli- 
ances for  the  most  perfect  physical  development  and  health 
of  the  young  ladies,  and  placed  under  the  care  of  a  scien- 
tifically trained  directress.  This  building  was  named  "  Sill 
Hall,"  in  honor  of  her  who  had  almost  built  with  her  hands 
the  other  three  edifices. 

Next  to  the  trial  of  relinquishing  a  position,  long  held, 
of  high  and  honorable  trust,  is  the  attendant  one  of 
witnessing  new  methods  and  new  ideas  superseding  those 
to  which  one's  life  has  been  devoted ;  of  standing  silent  by, 
while  the  new  age  and  its  young  and  bold  spirit  irreveren- 
ly  pushes  past  the  old — a  trial  which  not  only  educators, 
but  men  of  all  professions  who  have  lived  for  fifty  years, 
are  called  to  experience, — which  is  indeed  the  Providential 
law  of  growth  and  progress.  Yet  the  same  meekness  of 
wisdom  which  submitted  gracefully  to  the  former,  accepted 
silently  and  without  a  sign  of  impatience  or  irritation  the 
new  regime  with  whatever  of  change  it  might  bring.  Her 
faith  was  so  steadfast,  her  confidence  so  serene  in  the 
Divine  guidance  of  the  Institution  in  all  its  previous  his- 
tory, and  in  the  principles  on  which  it  was  founded, 
that  she  could  still  trust  it  in  His  hands  for  its  future 
career.  Moreover,  her  silent  and  benignant  presence,  and 
the  spirit  of  calm,  sweet  dignity  and  venerable  repose  that 
streamed  from  her,  with  all  that  it  suggested  of  tried  expe- 
rience and  matured  wisdom,  was  itself  a  conservative 
power,  the  more  potent  because  of  its  gentle  and  un- 
obtrusive character.  All  felt  the  softening,  subduing 
and  hallowing  power  of  her  unconscious  influence,  and 
deemed  it  a  privilege  to  minister  in  any  way  to  the  wishes 


34  MEMORIALS  OF 

or  happiness  of  one  so  worthy  of  their  reverence  and 
love. 

Whatever  anxieties  she  may  have  felt  in  consequence  of 
the  change  of  administration,  were  happily  allayed  during 
the  five  years  that  succeeded.  During  the  four  years  of 
Miss  Hillard's  administration,  the  Seminary  more  than 
sustained  its  previous  reputation  for  high  scholarship  and 
earnest  Christian  character,  which  has  increased  rather  than 
diminished  under  her  successor,  Miss  Anna  B.  Gelston.  To 
both  she  felt  and  expressed  the  warmest  sympathy  in  their 
work  and  gratitude  for  what  they  had  done  for  the  school, 
and  especially  for  their  kindness  toward  herself.  It  is 
pleasant  to  believe  that  her  confidence  grew  to  the  last, 
that  the  work  of  her  life  would  be  perpetuated  on  the  same 
high  and  broad  plan  of  thorough  Christian  education  on 
which  it  was  founded. 

Other  afflictions,  now  began  to  gather  like  clouds  in 
her  evening  sky,  and  to  darken  her  horizon,  though  irra- 
diated and  gilded  with  the  light  beyond. 

In  the  spring  of  1889,  her  last  surviving  brother, 
his  wife  and  two  children,  died  of  pneumonia  within 
a  few  weeks  of  each  other.  This  sudden  and  sweeping 
blow  had  undoubtedly  its  effect  in  weakening  the  life- 
tenure  which  had  always  seemed  so  strong  and  tenacious  in 
her  physical  constitution.  This  soon  revealed  itself  in  a 
slight  attack  of  the  same  disease  while  on  a  visit  to  her 
niece,  Mrs.  A.  M.  Chapman,  at  Ridgeland,  near  Chicago, 
where  she  was  accustomed  to  make  her  home  chiefly  when 
away  from  Rockford.  She,  however,  rallied  from  the  attack, 
and  seemed  to  be  regaining  her  health  and  strength.  But 
these  repeated  loosenings  of  the  roots  and  sunderings  of 
the  fibers  and  ties  that  held  her  to  the  earth  were  followed 
by  one  still  nearer  and  more  deeply  felt.  In  the  family  of 
this  niece,  who  had  ever  been  to  her  as  a  daughter,  and  for 
whom  she  felt  and  exercised  a  mother's  care,  was  a  darling- 
boy  of  four  years,  a  namesake,  who  was  a  special  favorite, 
and  whose  bright  intelligence  and  ardent  affection  drew 


ANNA  P.  SILL.  35 

forth  in  large  measure  the  child -love  and  child-care  which 
had  been  the  element  and  inspiration  of  her  life.  While 
recovering  from  her  illness,  and  just  as  she  was  beginning 
to  be  herself  again,  this  child  sickened  and  died.  A  blow  so 
crushing  to  her  affection  and  hopes,  and  so  overwhelming 
to  the  heart-broken  mother  and  invalid  father,  could  only 
add  to  the  burden  of  sympathy  and  physical  ministration 
already  as  great  as  she  could  bear,  and  she  very  soon  be- 
gan to  sink  under  the  weight.  By  the  advice  of  her  phy- 
sician, about  the  middle  of  May,  she  returned  to  Rockford 
and  to  her  rooms  in  the  Seminary.  But  the  springs  of  life 
were  already  ebbing,  and  there  was  not  strength  or  supply 
enough  to  fill  them  again .  Still  she  maintained  her  usual 
calm  and  cheerful  demeanor,  and  hope  was  dominant  to 
the  last.  She  rode  out  a  few  times  at  the  invitation  of 
friends,  and  moved  about  the  halls  with  her  accustomed 
freedom,  speaking  words  of  cheer  to  all  who  greeted  her ; 
but  her  step  was  slow  and  her  voice  had  lost  the  resonant 
vigor  and  blitheness  of  its  tone. 

On  'Founder's  Day,"  June  llth,  she  kept  her  room, 
and  did  not  go  to  the  Chapel  for  the  evening  exercises,  but 
instead  retired  early  to  bed,  from  which  she  never  rose 
again. 

The  physicians  saw  from  the  first,  that  there  was  little 
hope  of  recovery.  The  disease  which  had  before  yielded 
to  remedies  and  a  remarkably  strong  constitution,  now 
returned  with  renewed  force  to  prey  on  her  already 
exhausted  vital  energies.  She  spoke  little  during  her  ill- 
ness of  eight  days.  She  seemed  strongly  desirous  of  re- 
covery, and  repeatedly  inquired  of  her  physician  what 
was  his  view  of  her  case.  When  told  of  its  probably 
fatal  termination,  she  received  it  calmly  and  silently.  She 
gave  no  directions  concerning  her  funeral  or  other  tem- 
poral matters,  and  sought  no  opportunity  to  speak  any 
'last  words.'  She  felt,  probably,  that  her  work  was  done, 
and  her  last  words  were  already  spoken ;  and  she  desired 
only  stillness  and  peace  for  her  last  communingswilh  God 


36  MEMORIALS  OF 

and  her  own  soul,  before  going  forth  to  meet  the  invisible 
and  eternal. 

She  died  calmly  and  peacefully,  about  7  o'clock  on  the 
morning  of  Tuesday,  June  18th,  but  a  week  before  the 
Anniversary  or  'Commencement,'  as  it  was  indeed  to  her 
— close  of  the  temporal  and  beginning  of  the  eternal  life — 
with  the  'innocent  brightness  of  a  new  born  day,'  and 
the  sweetness  of  the  summer  air  without,  and  the 
brightness  and  fragrance  of  young,  hopeful  hearts  around 
her.  Not  otherwise,  or  elsewhere,  could  she  have  wished  to 
die,  if  the  time  and  place  had  been  given  her  to  choose. 

The  funeral  was  held  in  the  Seminary  Chapel,  on 
Thursday,  June  20th,  at  10%  o'clock.  A  vacant  chair  with 
a  wreath  of  white  flowers  upon  the  back,  stood  upon  the 
platform ;  and  below  lay  the  casket,  on  which  rested  two 
large  sago  palms,  emblamatic  of  victory.  The  introduc- 
tory services  were  conducted  by  the  Rev.  Walter  M.  Bar- 
sows,  pastor  of  the  Second  Congregational  Church ;  the 
sermon  was  preached  by  the  Rev.  H.  M.  Goodwin,  her 
former  pastor,  for  twenty  years ;  and  the  funeral  prayer 
was  offered  by  the  Rev.  W.  W.  Leete,  pastor  of  the  First 
Congregational  Church. 

The  body  was  interred  in  the  West  Side  Cemetery  in  a 
grave  profusely  lined  with  flowers  and  evergreens  which 
beautifully  symbolized  the  sweet  fragrance  and  perennial 
greenness  of  her  memory.  While  the  clouds,  that  had 
wept  throughout  the  morning,  suspended  their  falling 
drops,  Miss  Sill's  favorite  hymn  was  sung  above  the  open 
grave  by  voices  that  had  often  joined  with  her's  in  the 
Seminary  Chapel : 

Father,  whate'er  of  earthly  bliss 

Thy  sovreign  will  denies, 
Accepted  at  Thy  throne  of  grace 

Let  this  petition  rise ; 

Give  me  a  calm,  a  thankiul  heart, 

From  every  murmur  free ; 
The  blessings  of  Thy  grace  impart, 

And  make  me  live  to  Thee, 


ANNA  P.  SILL.  37 

Let  the  sweet  hope  that  Thou  art  mine, 

My  life  and  death  attend ; 
Thy  presence  through  my  journey  shine, 

And  crown  my  journey's  end. 

Thus  lived  and  died  one  of  the  consecrated  ones  whose 
work  on  earth  still  lives  only  as  it  is  part  of  that  Divine 
work  and  plan  which  extends  beyond  our  sight  and  com- 
prehension, and  into  whose  larger -unfolding  she  has  joy- 
fully entered.  H.  M.  G, 


MEMORIAL  SERYICES. 


ANNA  P.  SILL.  41 

IMMEDIATELY  after  Miss  Sill's  death,  the  following  card 
was  issued  and  sent  to  the  Alumnae  and  friends  of  the 
Seminary,  expressive  of  the  feeling  of  the  Principal,  which 
reflected  those  of  the  other  teachers  and  the  entire  com- 
munity, in  view  of  this  bereavement : 

ALUMNJE  AND  FRIENDS  OF 

ROCKFORD  SEMINARY: 

After  her  long  and  useful  life,  our  honored  friend,  ANNA 
P.  SILL,  has  gone  from  us.  At  the  Seminary,  in  the  room 
so  dear  to  her  by  many  associations  reaching  back  forty 
years,  she  entered  upon  that  part  of  her  life  which  though 
hidden  from  us,  will  go  on  through  the  eternal  years. 

Miss  Sill  died  at  half-past  six  o'clock  Tuesday  morning, 
June  eighteenth,  and  will  be  buried  from  the  Seminary 
Chapel  on  Thursday  morning,  June  twentieth,  at  half-past 
ten  o'clock. 

Although  having  laid  down  her  duties  at  the  Seminary 
five  years  ago,  she  has  since  been  an  ever  welcome  guest 
with  us,  and  with  her  saintly  and  dignified  presence  has 
been  an  inspiration  to  teachers  and  students  alike.  Her 
interest  in  the  Seminary  has  never  waned,  and  her  prayers 
and  efforts  are  a  part  of  our  richest  inheritance. 

It  has  been  a  beautiful  end  ing  of  her  life,  that  her  death 
should  be  here  where  her  work  has  been.  She  has  gone  to 
her  rest  and  her  works  do  follow  her.  "Whosoever  shall 
lose  his  life  for  My  sake  and  the  gospel's,  the  same  shall 
save  it."  "  They  that  be  wise  shall  shine  as  the  brightness 
of  the  firmament;  and  they  that  turn  many  to  righteous- 
ness as  the  stars  forever  and  ever." 

ANNA  B.  GELSTON, 

Principal  Rockford  Seminary. 

ROCKFORD,  ILLINOIS, 

June  18th,  1889. 


FUNERAL  DISCOURSE 


REV.  HENRY.  M.  GOODWIN. 


"And  I  heard  a  voice  fiom  Heaven  saying  unto  me,  Write,  Blessed 
are  the  dead  which  die  in  the  Lord  from  henceforth:  Yea,  saith  the 
Spirit,  that  they  may  rest  from  their  labors;  and  their  works  do  follow 
them."— REV.  xiv:13. 

\  j /HIS  voice  from  heaven — how  it  hushes  all  human 
sJJfe)  voices,  silences  all  questionings  and  murmurings  of 
human  reason  or  of  human  sorrow,  as  all  the  noises  of 
earth  die  in  the  calm  and  infinite  depths  of  ether.  Let  us 
listen,  my  friends,  to  this  voice,  spoken  anew  to  us  to-day, 
and  written,  as  it  were,  in  marble  on  these  pale  and  move- 
less features. 

We  all  know  something  of  the  comfort  and  refresh- 
ment of  rest,  little  of  it  as  there  is  in  this  busy  and  restless 
world,  especially  in  this  fast  and  breathless  age.  But  its 
full  blessedness,  its  deep  and  calm  and  infinite  repose,  is 
given  not  to  the  living,  but  to  the  dead — who  die  in  the 
Lord. 

We  all  know  the  necessity,  and  something  of  the  rewards 
of  labor;  for  life  is  one  long  day  of  labor  and  toil.  The 
world  rings  with  the  incessant  strokes  of  the  hammer  on 
its  million  anvils,  and  trembles  with  the  jar  of  its  cease- 
less mills  and  factories,  its  impetuous  and  on-rushing 
trains.  The  world's  history  is  a  history  of  toil,  of  strug- 


44  MEMORIALS  OF 

gle  and  endeavor,  often  defeated,  sometimes  rewarded,  but 
never  ended.  All' of  good  we  possess  in  our  high  and 
complex  civilization,  is  the  fruit  of  persistent  human  labor 
and  achievement.  Hence,  we  are  very  apt  to  magnify 
work,  as  if  it  were  the  only  good.  We  do  not  often  think 
of  the  relation  between  labor  and  rest,  and  how  much 
greater,  proportionally,  the  latter  is  than  the  former. 
Consider  the  momentous  fact,  that  of  all  the  countless 
millions  that  have  lived  on  the  earth  since  the  beginning, 
the  greater  part  have  passed  away  into  silence  and  obliv- 
ion, and  only  a  small  proportion  are  still  alive.  Not  the 
'toiling  millions,'  as  we  often  hear,  but  the  sleeping  mil- 
lions, form  the  great  majority  of  mankind.  They  lived 
their  little  day,  wrought  their  great  or  little  works,  and 
now  rest  from  their  labors;  and  their  works,  whether  great 
or  little,  good  or  evil,  do  follow  them. 

Of  the  only  perfect  life  ever  lived  in  this  world,  thirty 
years  were  passed  in  silence  and  obscurity,  amid  the  rest- 
ful scenes  tlmt  surrounded  his  humble  home  at  Nazareth ; 
and  only  three  of  these  years  in  public  ministrations.  Yet 
the  work  of  those  three  years,  with  what  lay  behind  and 
within  them,  has  revolutionized  human  history  and  re- 
deemed and  new  created  the  world,  showing  that  it  is  not 
the  duration  or  the  quantity,  but  the  quality  of  the  life 
and  work  that  counts  in  the  divine  arithmetic.  The  rela- 
tion of  rest  to  labor  and  its  proportion  in  the  divine  plan, 
may  be  seen  in  the  ordering  of  nature  in  reference  to  our 
earthly  life.  On  an  average,  only  half  of  each  day  of  twen- 
ty-four hours,  does  the  light  permit  man  or  nature  to 
work.  Night  duly  remands  nature  to  repose,  and  man  to 
slumber,  reminding  us  continually  of  the  solemn  admoni- 
tion to  work  while  it  is  day,  since  the  night  cometh  when 
no  man  can  work. 

Rest  is  not,  as  we  often  imagine,  a  mere  cessation  or 
interruption  of  work,  a  necessity  owing  to  the  frailty  and 
weakness  of  our  human  nature.  Rather  is  it  the  comple- 
ment of  labor,  and  so  necessary  to  its  perfection.  It  is 


ANNA  P.  SILL.  45 

like  the  background  of  m  ountains  in  a  landscape,  o  r  shading 
in  a  picture,  giving  relief  and  balance  and  support  to  the 
whole.  Or  it  is  like  night  completing  and  rounding  in 
with  its  arc  of  darkness  the  circle  of  the  day;  opening  also 
deep  vistas  into  other  worlds  not  seen  in  the  garish  and 
blinding  light  of  the  sun.  ''Our  little  life,"  says  the  poet, 
is  "rounded  with  a  sleep," — as  an  island  is  rounded  with 
the  ocean,  or  the  earth  with  immensity. 

Work  without  rest  is  weariness  and  bondage,  as  rest 
without  work  is  idleness  and  sin.  And  so  God  has  graci- 
ously mingled  both  in  our  daily  and  weekly  life,  giving  us 
in  nature  a  law  of  alternation  necessitating  physical  repose, 
and  in  grace  a  moral  and  Sabbatical  law  requiring  volun- 
tary rest,  with  the  sanction  of  His  own  example  of  rest 
from  the  work  of  creation,  and  furnishing  a  type  of  the 
heavenly  rest  into  which  all  who  die  in  the  Lord  have  al- 
ready entered. 

The  rest  of  Heaven,  while  it  is  rest  from  labor,  is  not  a 
cessation  of  activity,  but  a  serene,  joyous  and  restful  ac- 
tivity, in  contrast  with  that  which  we  call  labor,  which 
wearies  and  harrasses  mind  and  body  with  its  servitude. 
Would  you  see  a  type  of  it  in  nature?  Look  up  into  the 
blue  sky  on  some  clear  day  in  summer,  and  see  the  depth 
of  peace  and  rest  that  is  imaged  there.  The  discordant 
noises  of  this  world  all  die  and  are  buried  in  its  vast 
silence.  The  smoke  and  dust  that  so  often  pollutes  our 
atmosphere,  cannot  reach  or  stain  its  azure  purity;  while 
the  mists  and  vapors  that  obscure  our  vision  here  are  con- 
verted there  into  floating  tabernacles  and  pavillions  of  the 
light.  And  this  over-arching  sky,  so  calm  and  deep  and 
pure,  which  infolds  the  earth  and  all  things  upon  it  in  its 
all-embracing  arms,  is  the  fitting  symbol  of  Heaven  and  of 
that  peace  of  God  in  which  the  soul  rests  from  its  labors. 
Contrast  the  noises,  the  bustle  and  confusion  of  a  great 
city,  with  the  silence  and  repose  of  nature — 

"  The  silence  that  is  in  the  starry  sky, 
The  sleep  that  is  among  the  lonely  hills," 


46  MEMORIALS  OF 

and  learn  the  difference  between  man's  labor  and  God's 
rest. 

This  rest,  too,  is  faintly  symbolized  in  the  peaceful 
home  and  cheerful  fireside  to  which  the  tired  laborer  re- 
turns at  evening.  "Man  goeth  forth  to  his  work  and  to 
his  labor  until  the  evening;  but  with  evening  comes  rest 
from  labor,  yet  not  from  all  activity,  still  less  from  con- 
scious joy  and  the  delights  of  home  and  social  communion. 
The  hands  rest  from  toil,  but  the  heart  and  soul  awakes 
to  a  higher  activity,  and  a  purer  and  serener  joy.  Sleep 
brings  rest  and  repose  to  the  body,  but  is  not  needed  for 
the  soul.  So  when  God  giveth  His  beloved  sleep,  it  is  not 
the  sleep  of  unconsciousness,  but  that  higher  repose  of 
which  this  is  but  a  symbol.  The  body  sleeps  in  the  grave, 
but  the  soul  rests  in  the  bosom  of  God,  and  partakes  of 
His  divine  joy  and  peace  and  blessedness. 

As  Jesus  once  called  his  disciples  away  from  the  dis- 
tractions and  tumult  of  the  thronging  multitudes,  and 
said  to  them,  "come  ye  apart  into  a  desert  place  (or  more 
properly  into  the  country,  away  from  the  crowded  town,) 
and  rest  awhile,"  so  with  like  compassionate  sympathy, 
he  says  to  the  life-wearied  and  world-worn  toiler,  Come  up 
up  hither  and  rest  from  your  labors.  In  my  Father's 
house  are  many  mansions — homes  for  the  lonely  and  weary 
ones — gardens  and  paradises  of  delight,  more  beautiful 
than  the  lost  Eden,  where  you  may  rest  or  walk  or  run, 
and  not  be  weary.  There  is  society,  more  select  and  per- 
fect, delights  and  entertainments  more  ravishing,  employ- 
ments more  high  and  satisfying,  and  objects  of  beauty 
more  glorious  than  any  which  this  earth  can  give.  Eye 
hath  not  seen,  nor  ear  heard,  neither  have  entered  into 
the  heart  of  man  the  things  which  God  hath  prepared  for 
them  that  love  him. 

These  thoughts,  suggested  by  our  Scripture,  I  have 
presented  for  the  comfort  and  strengthening  of  our  hearts 
in  this  hour  of  sorrow,  when  the  too  sensible  presence  and 
image  of  death  hide  from  us  its  real  meaning,  and  those 


ANNA  P.  SILL.  47 

eternal  and  blessed  realities  that  lie  beyond.  We  need  to 
lift  our  thoughts  and  our  low  estimates  of  things  from  the 
seen  to  the  unseen,  to  have  them  toned  and  chastened, 
enlarged  and  purified  by  communion  with  God's  thoughts. 
We  need  to  correct  our  measurements  of  time  by  the  horo- 
logue  of  eternity.  Then  will  "Our  noisy  years  seem  mo- 
ments in  the  being  of  the  eternal  silence. ' ' 

With  this  dim  yet  comforting  glimpse  of  the  rest  into 
which  our  sister  has  entered,  let  us  now  turn  our  view 
earthward  and  timeward  to  the  works  that  do  follow  her, 
as  her  reward  and  our  memorial. 

A  just  estimate  of  the  work  that  Miss  Sill  has  accom- 
plished would  involve  a  full  history  of  the  Seminary  of 
which  she  was  practically  the  founder,  and  for  so  many 
years  the  honored  Principal,  and  with  which  the  greater 
part  of  her  life  is  identified.  This  is  her  monument;  with 
this  her  name  and  memory  will  be  inseparably  associated, 
as  the  name  of  Mary  Lyon  is  associated  with  Mt.  Holyoke, 
its  New  England  prototype. 

Only  a  brief  outline  of  this  her  life  work  can  be  here  at- 
tempted, and  that  only  so  far  as  it  may  serve  to  illustrate 
her  character. 

The  work  of  Miss  Sill  in  connection  with  Eockford 
Female  Seminary  was  twofold,  requiring  a  twofold,  or 
rather  manifold  endowment  of  character.  First — The  out- 
ward and  visible  work  of  organizing,  building  up  and 
establishing  the  Seminary  on  asolid  and  permanent  basis. 
Secondly—  The  invisible,  moral  and  spiritual  work  of  teach- 
ing, of  training  and  moulding  the  mind  and  character  of 
the  pupils.  Few  are  endowed  with  the  qualities  requisite 
for  both  these  kinds  of  work— with  the  executive  and  ad- 
ministrative ability  needful  for  the  first,  and  the  intellect- 
ual and  moral  endowments  necessary  for  the  second.  In 
both  these,  however,  Miss  Sill  was  preeminently  able  and 
successful.  None  but  those  who  have  witnessed  or  borne 
part  in  the  first  beginnings  of  a  College  or  Seminary  in  a 
new  western  community,  without  endowment  and  with  few 


48  MEMORIALS  OF 

friends  or  patrons,  can  appreciate  the  difficulties  of  the 
enterprise,  and  only  such  can  rightly  estimate  the  quali- 
ties of  mind  and  heart  a.ble  to  meet  and  overcome  them. 

Endowed  with  an  energy  of  will  that  rose  superior  to 
all  obstacles,  a  resoluteness  of  purpose  which  no  difficulties 
could  daunt,  and  a  faith  that  could  remove  mountains, 
and  above  all  and  under  all  and  through  all  as  an  illumin- 
ating and  guiding  light,  an  ideal  of  the  end  to  be  attained, 
Miss  Sill  entered  on  the  work  of  building  Rockford  Female 
Seminary  at  a  time  when  female  education  of  a  high  order 
was  almost  a  novelty;  beforeVassar  or  Smith  or  Wellesley 
Colleges  existed  even  in  thought,  and  when  the  felt  need  of 
such  an  institution,  as  well  as  the  means  of  building  it, 
had  in  one  sense  to  be  created.  True,  the  idea  had  been 
born,  or  rather  conceived,  simultaneously  with  that  of  Be- 
loit  College,  as  a  twin-sister  of  that  noble  institution ;  but 
the  embodiment  of  this  idea  in  visible  and  tangible  form, 
its  nurture  and  growth  as  a  living  thing,  had  all  to  be  un- 
dertaken and  carried  on,  without  resources,  and  almost 
without  precedent,  by  the  wisdom  and  energy,  the  faith 
and  patience  and  perseverance  of  one  woman.  How  it 
was  done,  at  least  the  outward  results,  the  records  and 
history  of  the  institution  will  show.  How  it  was  really 
done,  through  what  heart-struggles  of  prayer  and  pur- 
pose, of  trial  and  perplexity,  of  long  conflict  and  final 
victory,  only  the  inward  history  of  a  heart  and  life  can 
reveal.  On  her  devolved  not  only  the  administration  of 
its  internal  affairs,  the  providing  of  teachers  and  the 
entire  discipline  of  the  school,  but  largely  the  securing  of 
means  to  carry  on  the  enterprise.  In  her  was  found  not 
only  wisdom  to  devise  what  was  needed  and  resolution  to 
undertake  it,  but  ability  also  to  inspire  faith  and  courage 
in  others  to  accomplish  what  she  had  devised. 

For  years  she  was  the  animating  soul,  the  organizing 
force,  the  controlling  mind  and  will  of  the  institution. 
When  means  and  resources  failed,  and  others  were  discour- 
aged, she  was  never  disheartened,  but  bravely  put  forth  new 


ANNA  P.  SILL.  49 

exertions,  devising  new  measures,  and  resolutely  pushing 
the  enterprise  along  the  upward  grade  her  skillful  and  en- 
gineering mind  had  laid  for  it. 

Thus  slowly,  step  by  step,  and  year  by  year,  the  insti- 
tution grew.  One  by  one,  new  buildings  were  erected, 
planned  by  her  thought  and  filled  largely  through  her  in- 
fluence; and  into  their  walls,  as  well  as  into  the  character 
of  the  pupils,  her  own  life  and  character  was  builded. 

Her  work  as  a  teacher,  and  the  influence  she  exerted 
over  the  mind  and  character  of  her  pupils  was  no  less  re- 
markable and  successful.  In  this  work  and  influence  sev- 
eral characteristic  qualities  may  be  mentioned. 

First,  a  pure  and  ardent  love  of  knowledge,  of  knowl- 
edge for  its  own  sake  and  in  all  its  departments.  I  remem- 
ber once  hearing  her  say  that  she  was  not  conscious  of 
any  preference  of  one  science  above  another.  All  knowl- 
edge and  all  truth  was  attractive,  satisfied  a  want  and 
craving  in  her  ever  open  and  inquisitive  mind.  United 
with  this  was  a  deep  and  strong  sympathy  with  the  minds 
of  her  pupils  in  all  their  varied  characters  and  experiences 
and  a  sympathy  no  less  with  their  trials  and  difficulties. 
A  bond  of  attachment  was  thus  formed  between  teacher 
and  pupil,  deeper  than  intellectual,  sympathy  or  that 
which  mere  instruction  creates,  which  knit  the  heart  of  one 
to  the  other  in  a  spiritual  union. 

Noticeable  also,  was  the  maternal  element  or  feeling 
which  embraced  all  her  pupils  in  an  impartial  love.  The 
motherly  care  and  tenderness  with  which  she  brooded  over 
her  numerous  charge  often  reminded  one  of  the  scriptural 
simile,  "As  a  hen  gathereth  her  chickens  under  her  wings." 
And  if  any  of  her  brood  escaped  her  shelter  and  protection 
it  was  not  for  want  of  love,  but  because  the  wings  were 
not  large  enough  to  cover  them  all. 

I  must  not  omit  to  mention  her  supreme  regard  to  the 
spiritual  and  religious  welfare  of  her  pupils.  This  was  the 
one  essential  point  of  culture  to  which  all  others  were  sec- 
ondary ;  rightly  deeming  a  true  education  to  be  a  culture 

D 


50  MEMORIALS  OF 

of  the  heart  as  well  as  of  the  intellect,  and  that  faith  in 
Christ  and  obedience  to  His  commands,  is  the  foundation 
of  all  right  and  pure  and  noble  character.  Hence,  the 
Bible  was  made  a  text-book  out  of  which  lessons  were  daily 
learned,  and  its  truths  and  principles  enforced  both  by 
precept  and  example.  As  a  consequence,  nearly  all  her 
pupils  were  disciples  in  the  school  of  Christ,  or  became  such 
through  her  influence  and  tender  personal  counsel. 

I  well  remember  the  groups  of  young  ladies  led  by  her 
successively  from  successive  classes  to  the  altar  of  the 
Church  to  which  I  ministered  and  of  which  she  was  a  mem- 
ber, and  what  strength  and  beauty  was  thereby  added  to 
it ;  also  what  sympathy  and  encouragement  was  given  to 
the  pastor  by  her  faithful  ministrations  in  every  good  word 
and  work.  A  devoted  missionary  spirit  was  also  fostered 
and  maintained,  and  not  a  few  went  forth  from  the  Seminary 
to  labor,  and  some  to  die,  on  foreign  and  heathen  shores. 

If  now  it  be  asked  what  was  the  secret  of  Miss  Sill's 
character  and  the  source  of  her  peculiar  power  and  influ- 
ence, many  answers  might  be  given  according  to  what  is 
deemed  most  essential  and  central  in  her  character. 

I  have  spoken  of  her  executive  energy  and  will  power 
as  conspicuous  in  her  life  and  work.  This  does  not  imply 
that  her  power  resided  or  had  its  source  in  her  will ;  for  a 
strong  will,  if  it  be  not  mere  wilfulness,  is  the  energy  of  a 
great  soul  inspired  by  a  lofty  idea  and  purpose,  and  sus- 
tained and  reinforced  by  the  spirit  of  God,  the  only  true 
source  of  all  spiritual  power.  Hence,  those  of  the  greatest 
and  loftiest  faith,  have  the  strongest  and  most  indomi- 
table will,  able  to  do  and  endure  more  than  ordinary 
persons,  though  they  be  the  gentlest  and  humblest  of  men, 
because  this  will  is  sustained  and  strengthened  by  divine 
springs,  and  so  partakes  of  the  divine  power. 

This  soul  power  in  Miss  Sill,  was  expressed  in  the  glow 
of  her  countenance,  the  thrilling  yet  gentle  tones  of  her 
voice,  the  fervor  and  force  of  her  words  and  the  enthusi- 
j  i « rn  of  her  whole  being.  You  felt  at  once  that  here  was  one 


ANNA  P.  SILL.  51 

alive  all  through  and  all  over,  and  able  to  quicken  life  in  all 
minds  capable  of  being  quickened .  Here  is  the  great  secret 
not  only  of  the  true  teacher,  but  of  the  poet,  the  artist, 
the  orator  and  the  actor ;  of  all  who  see  into  the  truth  and 
heart  of  things,  not  through  the  understanding,  or  by 
means  of  words  and  notions  and  abstractions,  but  by  the 
insight  of  a  quick  imagination  and  a  living  soul. 

The  secret  of  her  power  as  a  teacher  lay  in  her  personal 
power  and  influence ;  in  the  outflow  of  her  spirit  and  char- 
acter, and  its  inflow  into  the  mind  and  heart  of  those  open 
to  receive  it.  True  education  is  always  largely  a  personal 
matter  between  teacher  and  pupil — not  the  mere  reception 
of  truth  or  ideas,  or  the  storing  of  the  mind  with  knowl- 
edge, as  a  dead  mechanical  thing,  but  the  eliciting'  or 
drawing  out  (e-duco)  of  thought  by  the  attracting,  stimu- 
lating and  inspiring  power  of  another  rnind,  wiser  or 
stronger  or  better  than  itself. 

This  personal  power  or  the  power  of  inspiration  which 
belongs  to  genius,  was  in  Miss  Sill  inseparable  from  the 
moral  power  seated  in  the  conscience  and  heart.  Loyalty 
to  duty,  as  it  was  given  her  to  see  it,  consecration  and 
steadfast  fidelity  to  the  work  given  her  to  do,  this  seemed 
to  be  the  law  of  her  life  and  character,  and  in  the  light  of 
this  principle  all  her  acts  and  duties  were  performed.  With 
such  a  purpose  steadily  pursued,  with  such  a  difficult  work 
and  such  manifold  and  often  incongruous  and  intractible 
elements  to  deal  with,  it  could  not  be  but  that  criticisms 
would  arise  and  harsh  judgments  be  formed  and  some- 
times uttered ;  and,  moreover,  even  such  a  woman  had  her 
weaknesses  and  imperfections,  because  she  was  human.  If 
sometimes  she  was  more  tenacious  of  forms  and  precise 
technical  rules  of  conduct  than  some  would  deem  neces- 
sary, it  was  the  tenacity  of  a  conscience  wholly  set  in  the 
way  of  right,  and  fearing  to  let  down  the  high  standard 
of  duty  to  which  she  clung.  If  her  method  of  discipline 
sometimes  was  more  of  a  legal  than  a  spiritual  order,  and 
followed  the  letter  of  the  law  rather  than  the  spirit  of  the 


r>2  MEMORIALS  OF 

gospel,  it  was  because  the  law  of  duty  was  supreme,  and 
and  must  be  enforced  outwardly  by  precept  and  com- 
mandment until  it  becomes  an  inward  law  of  the  heart.  If 
she  sometimes  seemed  actuated  by  policy  and  expediency, 
leading  to  management  instead  of  simplicity  in  the  attain- 
ment of  ends,  it  was  the  wisdom  of  the  serpent,  which  if 
not  the  highest  wisdom  is  often  as  needful  in  this  world  as 
the  harmlessness  of  the  dove,  and  without  which  the  high- 
est aims  and  the  purest  and  best  endeavors  would  fail  by 
being  impracticable.  That  she  recognized  and  owned  a 
wisdom  higher  than  expediency,  and  obeyed  a  law  more 
supreme  than  policy,  is  evinced  by  the  maxim  often  heard 
from  her  lips— "Duty  is  ours,  results  are  God's." 

One  of  the  best  proofs  of  her  high  and  sterling  excel- 
lence of  character,  and  one  most  grateful  to  herself,  was 
the  devotion  and  the  lasting  reverence  and  affection 
of  her  pupils.  However  they  may  have  esteemed  her  when  , 
under  her  instruction,  after  graduation,their  esteem  ripened 
into  reverence  and  love.  And  this  love  came  back  to  her 
from  far  and  near,  wherever  in  the  wide  world  they  might 
be  scattered,  and  settled  as  a  crown  of  glory  upon  her  head. 

The  Alumnae  reunions  at  Chicago  have  become  a  classic 
custom,  next  to  the  Rockford  anniversary  itself;  and  now 
that  that  revered  head,  that  serene  and  lofty  brow  is  laid 
low  and  she  will  meet  no  more  her  beloved  family  at  the 
festal  board,  how  will  memory  run  back  and  retrace  with 
tearful  eyes  each  overgrown  path  leading  to  this  '  Alma 
Mater,'  in  a  twofold  sense,  and  seek  to  recover  and  keep 
as  a  sacred  treasure  each  word  of  wisdom,  each  look  of 
love  and  benediction  that  fell  from  the  beloved  teacher, 
and  hasten  to  cast  the  tribute  of  homage  and  affection 
upon  her  grave. 

I  feel,  my  friends,  that  I  have  discharged  very  imper- 
fectly the  sacred  duty  and  honorable  privilege  assigned  me. 
Called  suddenly  and  without  time  for  the  preparation 
suitable  for  such  an  occasion,  I  have  spoken  but  poor  and' 
feeble  words.  May  I  trust  to  your  clemency  and  lov- 


ANNA   P.  SILL.  53 

ing  kindness,  so  often  experienced;  especially  let  me 
trust  to  your  love  and  knowledge  of  the  deceased,  to  cor- 
rect what  is  amiss,  and  to  fill  up  what  is  behind  in  my 
utterances. 

After  all,  my  friends,  what  are  human  words,  even  the 
best  and  most  eloquent,  to  express  the  loss  and  the  gain, 
the  worth  and  the  meaning  of  such  a  life ;  the  rest  into 
which  she  has  entered,  and  the  works  that  do  surely  follow 
her?  Calm  and  speechless  meditation,  'when  in  the  sessions 
of  sweet  silent  thought,'  we  remember  our  beloved  dead ; 
feeling,  too  deep  for  utterance  or  tears,  and  almost  for 
thought ;  the  infinite  silences  of  the  grave  and  eternity, 
unbroken  save  by  God's  whisper  in  the  soul,  or  the  voice 
that  John  heard  from  Heaven  in  the  lonely-isle  of  Patmos 
— these  are  fitted  for  an  occasion  like  this.  Truly,  "Blessed 
are  the  dead  who  die  in  the  Lord."  Her  children  rise  uj} 
and  call  her  blessed — blessed  in  her  life,  more  blessed  in  her 
death ;  blessed  in  her  labors,  more  blessed  in  her  rest  from 
labor ;  and  most  blessed  in  the  works  that  do  follow  her 
in  shining  troops  of  minds  enlightened  and  cultured,  of 
hearts  enlarged  and  sanctified,  of  characters  regenerated 
and  saved — all  coming  to  crown  her  as  the  mother  of  their 
peace  and  joy. 

I  cannot  close  without  a  recognition  of  the  kindly 
Providence  of  God  in  the  time  and  place  of  her  death. 
What  place  so  sacred  and  so  fitting  in  which  to  die,  as 
here,  in  this  sanctuary  of  her  own  room  where  she  had  so 
often  communed  with  God  in  prayer ;  amidst  these  quiet, 
rural  shades,  where  she  had  often  heard  the  voice  of  the 
Lord  God  walking  in  the  garden  in  the  cool  of  the  day ; 
and  where  the  angels  of  God  had  met  her  and  brought 
strength  to  her  fainting  heart  when  sinking  under  its  bur- 
dens. And  if  we  saw  them  not  as  they  descended  to  receive 
her  parting  soul,  they  were  visible  to  her  enraptured  vis- 
ion, and  she  went  forth  gladly  with  them  along  and  up  the 
shining  pathway  of  the  skies. 

What  time,  too,  so  fitting  as  this  anniversary  season, 


54  MEMORIALS   OF 

when  the  brightness  and  beauty  of  summer  is  in  the  air 
and  over  all  the  earth,  and  the  gladness  of  youthful  en- 
thusiasm is  in  all  hearts ;  this  coronal  season  which  she 
had  so  often  graced  and  honored  with  her  presence  and 
her  benedictions  ? 

What  time  so  fitting  for  her  departure  from  the  scene 
of  her  labors  to  receive  the  honors  and  rewards  of  her  long 
and  faithful  service  ? 

This  event  comes  not  as  a  shadow  to  darken  and  throw 
a  gloom  over  this  festal  season,  but  as  an  aureole  to  hal- 
low and  glorify  it,  and  shed  over  its  festivities  the  sanctity 
of  a  celestial  light  and  joy.  Henceforth  the  presiding  spirit 
and  genius  of  the  place  will  be  not  a  visible  presence  but  a 
guardian  angel,  whose  benediction  will  be  felt,  not  heard, 
and  whose  name  will  live  not  only  in  these  halls  and  rustic 
walks,  and  not  alone  in  the  marble  monument  that  shall 
cover  her  grave,  but  in  the  hearts  and  memories  of  her 
children  and  her  children's  children  to  the  latest  genera- 
tion. 


at  the  HlumijaE 


(3TT  the  close  of  the  Commencement  exercises  on  Wednes- 
7^1  day,  June  26th,  the  Alumnse  reunion  was  held  in  Sill 
Hall,  where  the  usual  dinner  was  provided,  at  which  a  large 
number  of  the  Alumnae,  drawn  to  their  Alma  Mater  by 
this  tender  and  cementing  bond  of  sympathy  in  her  sor- 
row, assembled,  to  dwell  on  sacred  memories  and  associa- 
tions made  more  vividly  present  by  the  absence  of  the 
revered  one  about  whom  they  clustered. 

After  the  dinner,  Mrs.  Mabel  Walker  Herrick,  President 
of  the  Alumna?  Association,  introduced  Mrs.  Caroline  Bra- 
zee,  who  had  been  invited  to  take  charge  of  the  memorial 
exercises. 


of  «dUlr0* 

It  is  more  than  twenty  years  since  this  Association 
was  organized ;  we,  the  members,  have  come  and  gone, 
sometimes  here,  sometimes  elsewhere,  when  the  day  came 
around  for  the  annual  meeting.  I  doubt  if  any  one  of  us 
has  been  present  at  all  these  gatherings.  But  until  to- 
day all  were  sure  of  the  presence,  in  this  assembly,  of  her 
who  organized  and  set  us  at  work  as  an  Association.  Sit- 
ting at  the  head  of  our  table  she  called  for  the  divine 
blessing  upon  us  and  all  our  undertakings;  her  words 
lifted  our  hearts  in  thankfulness.  To-da-y,  we  miss  her 
face,  we  miss  her  words  and  we  are  very  lonely.  We  lack 


50  MEMORIALS  OF 

in  ourselves  that  force  and  power  of  life  which  would  help 
us  to  rise  above  these  earthly  changes — we  are  sad. 

We  will  wait  here  a  few  moments  where  she  was  wont 
to  gather  with  us,  hoping  to  say  to  each  other  such  words 
as  shall  fix  our  thoughts  not  upon  ourselves  but  upon  her 
life — a  life  whose  work  has  been  completed  and  crowned. 

Do  we  realize  what  a  privilege  we  have  to-day,  that  of 
contemplating  a  crowned  life?.  Most  workers  who  live 
even  thealloted  three  score  years  and  ten,  pass  over  to  the 
other  side  leaving  much  unfinished,  little  of  results  which 
they  can  see  and  from  which  they  can  gain  satisfaction. 
Our  revered  friend  had  the  exceedingly  rare  privilege  of 
seeing  her  work  a  success,  of  knowing  she  had  builded  like 
an  immortal.  We  hold  a  memorial  service  to-day,  but  if 
sad  at  all  it  is  because  we  bring  ourselves  into  it. 

I  have  often  thought,  both  now  and  in  past  years, 
how  much  life  has  been  converted  into  what  we  call  this  In- 
stitution. "Whosoever  will  lose  his  life  shall  save  it." 
Oftentimes  this  losing,  or  giving  of  life  is  not  a  conscious 
act  of  the  giver. 

We  say  justly  that  the  woman  whom  we  delight  to  honor 
founded  this  Institution,  and  by  her  peculiar  abilities  as  a 
pioneer,  she  led  it  up  nearly  to  where  it  now  stands.  With 
pride  we  mention  notable  acts  of  self-sacrifice  and  energy ; 
we  recall  what  she  did  toward  raising  money,  her  efforts 
to  call  in  pupils,  to  maintain  a  corps  of  teachers,  and  in 
many  other  directions  by  which  a  school  is  buili  up  and 
sustained.  But  the  Institution  is  something  more  than 
these  things.  You  may  throw  down  these  walls  so  that 
not  one  stone  shall  lie  upon  another,  you  may  scatter  her 
art-stores,  her  library,  her  furniture  to  the  winds;  you 
may  send  her  pupils  far  and  wide  into  other  halls  of  learn- 
ing ;  you  may  set  each  teacher  at  work  a  thousand  miles 
from  this  spot,  still  there  will  exist  in  the  world  llockford 
Seminary. 

It  is  many  3^ears  since,  being  then  a  teacher  here  my- 
self, I  knew  and  felt  the  power  of  the  Institution,  recog- 


ANNA  P.  SILL.  57 

nized  it  as  a  spiritual  entity,  a  power  that  must  be  ever- 
lasting. 

It  is  a  correlation  of  forces  derived  from  the  lives  which 
have  been  given  here.  Each  of  us,  sisters  of  the  Alumnae,  is 
a  part  of  this  life.  Do  the  three  or  six  years  which  you  and 
I  gave  to  hard  study  here  count  for  nothing  except  toward 
our  individual  development?-  I  believe  there  was  a  residue 
of  life-force  left  by  us  and  experienced  by  each  and  all  who 
came  after  us.  Each  teacher  and  each  pupil  has  given  some 
life  toward  this  other  life  or  force  which  we  name  the  Insti- 
tution. The  strong  life,  the  self-devoted  life,  the  entire  life 
which  Miss  Sill  gave  to  the  school  makes  her  share  in  the 
Institution  greater  than  any  of  ours.  She  gave  it  tone, 
and  form,  and  character,  but  we  must  not  forget  nor  ig- 
nore our  own  share  in  it.  It  is  difficult  in  words  to  realize 
the  actual  existence  of  this  force  which  is  simply  a  spiritual 
entity.  It  exists  in  and  with  this  school ;  but,  again  I  say, 
if  it  were  possible  to  destroy  the  school,  still  the  Institu- 
tion must  forever  remain  a  power.  She  who  held  the  largest 
share  in  the  Institution  gave  it  to  us.  Do  you  not  remember 
how  she  said  many  times,  "My  dear  children  of  the  Alumnae, 
this  Institution  is  yours :  in  the  future,  it  must  be  what 
you  make  it." 

Dear  Miss  Gelston,  permit  me  a  word  to  you  person- 
ally. Last  year  you  came  among  us  a  stranger ;  by  faith 
we  reached  out  to  you  our  hands,  we  elected  you  a  mem- 
ber of  our  Association,  called  you  one  of  us.  During  these 
last  few  weeks,  your  acts  of  love,  of  tender  reverent  care 
have  made  you  dear  to  each  of  us.  What  more  could  all 
the  Alumnse  have  done,  that  you  have  not  done,  to  soothe 
and  comfort  the  slow  descending  steps  of  our  loved  and 
honored  friend  as  she  passed  through  the  valley  of  death 
and  entered  the  other  life?  I  know  I  speak  for  all  our 
hearts  when  I  call  you  to-day  one  of  our  very  selves,  a  true 
Alumna,  daughter  of  our  cherishing  mother,  and  we  here 
pledge  to  you  our  support  as  you  and  we  go  forward  still 
building  this  Institution. 


58  MEMORIALS  OF 

We  shall  gather  fresh  courage  for  this  work  while  we 
sit  here  and  recall  some  of  the  efforts,  some  of  the  results 
of  our  leader's  life. 

Mrs.  Marie  Thompson  Perry  will  speak  of  Miss  Sill  as 
a  teacher. 


of  .Mrs*  ^Slarte  Sampson 


When  the  final  chapter  of  a  noble  life  is  written,  and 
a  great  soul  has  left  its  tenement  of  clay,  the  com- 
pleted work  and  the  one  who  wrought  it,  rise  before  us, 
with  a  dignity  and  a  grandeur  hitherto  unestimated. 

We  may  give  loyalty  and  reverence  in  life,  but  not  un- 
til after  death,  does  the  clear  light  of  transfiguration,  fully 
reveal  the  true  symmetry  of  proportion  and  the  majestic 
scope  of  the  finished  whole. 

We  come  to-day  as  daughters  to  pay  a  loving  tribute 
to  one  who  in  our  early,  formative  years,  moved  the  very 
springs  of  our  character  and  action,  whose  potent  influ- 
ence gave  direction  to  our  lines  of  thought;  whose  words 
and  precepts  like  seeds,  sinking  deep  into  our  hearts,  have 
sprung  up  and  borne  that  which  the  world  recognizes  as 
the  noblest  fruitage  of  our  lives. 

With  her  wondrous  endowment  of  head  and  heart,  and 
an  indomitable  will,  she  set  up  her  standard  in  the  wilder- 
ness, and  with  a  courage  that  knew  no  faltering,  a  vigi- 
lance that  was  ceaseless,  patiently,  hopefully,  prayerfully, 
wrought  out  the  dream  of  her  life — the  school  of  her  love. 

How  well  she  builded,  He  alone  knows,  who  sees  the  full 
magnitude  of  her  work :  we  can  only  estimate  it,  by  consid- 
ering what  would  have  been  the  effect  upon  our  lives,  our 
city  and  the  world  as  known  to  us,  had  her  work  been  left 
undone. 

If  in  search  for  the  secret  of  her  success,  we  shall  find  it  in 
her  single-hearted,  untiring  devotion  to  one  great  cause, 
in  the  giving  of  her  a/7  even  as  a  candle  gives  forth  itself  in 


ANNA  P.  SILL.  59 

light ;  and  as  we  walk  among  these  dear  old  places,  hal- 
lowed by  her  prayers  and  love,  this  thought  is  inseperable 
from  them— " A  life  has  been  builded  into  these  walls,"  and 
they  will  henceforth  be  eloquent  to  us  of  heroic  courage, 
grand  endeavor  and  the  "faith  that  can  remove  moun- 
tains." 

We  used  to  smile  at  her  oft  repeated  truisms,  but  they 
have  moulded  and  shaped  us.  Her  "  Whatever  is  worth 
doine;  at  all,  is  worth  doing  well,"  has  many  a  time  and  oft 
redeemed  our  work,  as  under  its  persistent  lashing,  we 
have  with  painstaking,  wearily  retraced  each  careless  step; 
trite  and  common  as  it  is,  it  has  been  the  secret  of  what- 
ever success  we  may  have  won.  . 

That  plain,  straight-forward,  character-making  asser- 
tion that  "We  are  what  our  most  cherished  thoughts 
make  us,"  has  penetrated  and  renewed  many  a  life  to  its 
very  core ;  and  urged  it  forward  toward  the  ideal  ever  just 
beyond.  Her  strength  as  a  teacher  lay  not  in  text-book 
lore  and  the  ability  to  communicate  it  to  others,  but  rather 
in  the  spirit  she  infused  into  her  pupils. 

She  planted  in  them  the  deep  conviction  that  true  edu- 
cation was  a* life  growth,  for  whose  strength  and  vigor 
each  one  was  responsible;  and  this  thought  "like  the  root 
in  the  rifted  rock,'  was  so  firmly  set,  that  adverse  winds 
and  limitations  of  circumstances  only  served  to  deepen  it 
in  the  hearts  of  her  girls.  Find  them  wherever  you  may, 
with  few,  if  indeed  any  exceptions,  they  are  growing  as 
best  they  can — pushing  out  a  lateral  branch  here,  shooting 
up  a  terminal  bud  there,  onward  and  upward — forward, 
not  backward. 

Her  power  over  her  pupils  was  rare  and  marvelous. 
Day  after  day,  by  word,  look  and  act,  she  forged  the  un- 
seen chain  that  at  last  she  riveted  around  them.  The 
impatience  of  youth  might  seek  to  shake  it  off  and  break 
it ;  the  pleasures  of  life  and  the  dictum  of  the  world  might 
strive  to  undo  its  fastenings,  but  sooner  or  later,  disloyal 
legions  would  wheel  into  line  and  do  valiant  service  in  the 


00  MEMORIALS   OF 

cause  of  truth  and  right.  It  was  beautiful  and  fitting  that 
she  should  die  where  she  had  lived  and  toiled  so  long,  and 
as  she  sat  serene  and  calm  in  the  parlor  we  all  know  so 
well,  the  shadows  of  the  evening  of  life  fell  softly  around 
her  and  her  spirit  made  ready  for  its  flight. 

Yet,  in  these  days  of  weakness,  we  may  measure  her 
strength  and  it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  her  influence 
belts  the  earth ;  for  it  stirs  in  the  heart  of  China,  lives  and 
thrills  in  the  new  life  in  Japan,  does  Zenana  work  in  India, 
seeks  to  lighten  the  darkness  of  Persia,  Turkey  and  the 
isles  of  the  sea,  dwells  in  England,  France  and  Germany, 
and  stretches  across  our  own  beloved  land  from  north  to 
south  and  from  ocean  to  ocean. 

Gently,  as  one  resting  after  the  labor  of  the  day  is  over, 
she  fell  asleep ;  the  heart  that  beat  so  long  and  lovingly 
for  us  was  stilled,  the  shapely  hands  with  their  slender 
white  fingers  were  folded  over  a  finished  work,  and  with 
palm  branch,  lilies  and  roses  we  reverently  laid  away  the 
beloved  form.  Then  rest  thee,  brave  true  spirit  of  courage 
and  power,  where  thy  peace  floweth  as  a  river  amid  the 
raptures  of  Heaven !  Thy  long  labor  of  love  is  over,  thy 
work  is  done,  and  as  the  many  thou  hast  uplifted  and 
blessed  come  thronging  home  to  meet  thee  where  the  great 
white  rose  of  Paradise  blooms,  how  will  the  living  light 
leap  along  the  jewels  in  thy  crown  as  we  stand  with  thee 
among  the  splendors  of  our  God ! 


MRS.  BRAZEE. — Mrs.  Eva  Townsend  Clark  will  recall 
some  traits  in  the  woman's  life  which  Miss  Sill  maintained 
running  under  and  inspiring  her  whole  public  career. 


of  jKlrs.  QEtm  Sonmsettb  ffllark* 

DEAR  FRIENDS:— 

We  have  met  to-day,  almost  as  around  a  communion 
table,  to  eat  and  drink  together  in  remembrance  of  one 
who  is  gone,  in  memory  of  a  woman— the  secret  of  whose 


ANNA  P.  SILL.  61 

power  we  would  gladly  know,  the  potency  of  whose  influ- 
ence we  wish  we  could  make  our  own.  There  is  nothing  so 
great,  says  Emerson,  as  a  great  soul,  and  this  memory  of 
ours  is  of  a  great  nature  greatly  consecrated. 

Devotion  to  the  ideal,  to  a  hope,  a  dream,  a  thought, 
is  harder  for  a  woman  than  a  man— but  some  women  have 
attained  it.  With  Deborah,  her  Israel ;  with  Joan  of  Arc, 
France ;  with  Florence  Nightingale  and  Dorothea  Fry,  the 
visitation  of  those  sick  and  in  prison ;  with  Mary  Lyon, 
Zillah  Grant  Bannister  and  Anna  P.  Sill,  the  education  of 
woman,  proved  the  animating  thought,  the  quickening 
power  of  glorious  living. 

Devotion  to  the  ideal  is  harder  for  the  woman  than  the 
man,  but  the  very  thought  of  womanhood  supposes  a 
supreme  devotion,  hence  marriage  and  motherhood ;  for 
God  knew  us  women,  and  how  hard  for  most  of  us  without 
these  sweetly  compelling  ties  would  it  be  to  live  in  another 
atmosphere  than  the  stifling  one  of  self.  But  what  are 
marriage  and  motherhood  but  types  dimly  shadowing  a 
supreme  consecration  and  helpfulness,  to  which  some  day, 
somewhere,  all  women  shall  attain — which  some  without 
them,  have  already  reached.  It  was  the  maid  Minerva 
whom  both  Greek  and  Roman  worshiped ;  it  is  the  Virgin 
Mother  whom  the  Mother  Church  adores — but  both  wholly 
consecrate,  the  one  to  wisdom,  the  other  to  her  Son,  both 
reproduced  and  living  in  the  life  of  others.  For  every  true 
woman  is  a  wife  and  mother  though  lover's  love  be  cold 
and  meaningless  to  her,  though  she  never  know  birth  throe 
or  labor  pang.  Some  thought  she  must  espouse,  though 
it  bring  no  endowment  of  worldly  goods,  must  love  and 
cherish  and  obey,  through  life  and  death :  some  child  of 
heart  or  soul  or  brain  must  bring  with  travail-pain  into 
this  unintelligible  world,  must  shelter  in  strong  arms,  must 
nourish  at  full  breasts. 

What  supreme  consecration  was  that  of  our  dear  dead 
we  know  full  well,  but  her  zeal  was  never  fanatical.  Her 
life  was  symmetrical,  rounded,  developed  on  all  sides; 


62  MEMORIALS   OF 

"  every  duty  seemed  a  privilege,  every  obligation  an  op- 
portunity." From  the  days  in  the  first  flush  of  early 
womanhood, 

"When  all  her  hope  and  all  her  pride, 
Were  in  her  village  school," 

to  those  later  ones  when  she  knew  "her  lines  had  gone 
out  into  all  the  earth,  and  her  influence  unto  the  ends 
thereof,"  she  never  forgot  that  while  a  teacher,  she  was 
yet  a  woman,  and  owed  womanly  duty  to  society,  the 
church,  the  world, 

Some  of  us  like  to  remember  that  she  never  failed  in 
the  external  lady  hood.  Burdened  with  a  thousand  responsi- 
bilities, perpetually  giving  out  of  her  small  salary,  she  was 
yet  always  beautifully  and  appropriately  dressed  from  a 
wardrobe  which  though  far  from  elaborate,  was  in  its 
least  detail  finished  as  exquisitely  as  a  bride's.  Strength 
and  honor  were  the  garments  of  her  soul,  and  her  out- 
ward adorning  shadowed  them  forth. 

Those  who  knew  her  in  early  days,  when  the  little  prairie 
town  greatly  needed  such  formative  influence,  well  remem- 
ber what  a  social  power  she  was ;  how  her  presence  at 
church  and  prayer  service  was  an  unfailing  inspiration  to 
her  pastor,  and  how  skillful  an  organizer  and  leader  she 
proved  in  any  undertaking  she  entered  upon. 

The  interest  in  missions  so  characteristic  of  her  was 
by  no  means  fostered  merely  by  the  knowledge  that  such 
an  interest  is  greatly  educative,  and  was  of  inestimable 
value  to  her  students,  but  grew  naturally  from  her  world- 
wide sympathies,  and  from  that "  enthusiasm  of  humanity" 
which  always  possessed  her,  and,  when  at  last,  her  long 
service  ended,  she  laid  down  her  work,  with  what  marvel- 
ous adaptability  she  entered  household  life  for  the  first 
time  in  many  years,  and  proved  herself  the  ever  ready 
helper,  the  nobly  tender  friend  of  childhood,  the  thought- 
ful nurse  and  care-taker,  and  ah !  supreme  test  of  character, 
the  ever  gracious  and  graceful  guest  in  that  large  house- 
hold where  for  five  and  thirty  years  her  will  was  law,  her 


ANNA  P.  SILL.  63 

word  control.  To  Rockford  Seminary,  home  of  her  heart, 
to  her  own  dear  and  sacred  rooms,  she  often  came  to  read, 
to  rest,  to  write,  to  enjoy  the  bright  young  life  about  her, 
but  never  once  to  pass  a  word  of  criticism  or  of  interfer- 
ence with  methods  which  could  not  be  her  own. 

What  a  record  is  this,  and  how  great  the  woman  of 
whom  it  can  be  truly  written !  Age,  which  seemed  to  in- 
crease her  personal  attractiveness,  adding  stateliness  and 
grace  to  her  dignity,  and  gentleness  to  her  fine  decided 
face,  served  also  to  render  her  increasingl}7  hospitable  to 
new  thought  and  ideas  variant  from  her  own. 

She  never  lost  her  eager  love  of  knowledge,  and  in  later 
years  gave  much  of  her  scant  leisure  to  study  of  the  history 
of  Art.  She  was  fond  of  travel,  and  an  eagerly  anticipated 
guest  in  many  homes  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific  coast, 
but  latterly  had  postponed  any  long  journey  until  her 
little  Robert  should  be  older.  Ah !  she  has  gone  on  the 
fairest  journey  of  all,  and  the  little  child  she  loved  so  well 
is  with  her  forever. 

In  such  a  life,  the  human  imperfection  was  like  the 
mole  upon  her  cheek,  marking  the  grandeur  of  her  general 
character  as  did  that  the  rose-leaf  quality  of  a  complexion 
which  at  sixty-five  an  observant  physician  declared  more 
delicate  than  that  of  any  student  in  the  institution. 

But  noble  as  was  her  life,  it  was  no  nobler  than  her 
death.  With  utter  lack  of  self-consciousness,  thinking 
only  of  others  to  the  last,  never  even  asking  whether  she 
was  to  live  or  die,  simply  and  humbly  as  a  little  child,  she 
passed  on  into  the  other  life. 

In  that  city  whose  streets  the  sea  doth  pave,  and  whose 
palaces  still  speak  of  centuries  of  splendor,  there  hangs 
that  masterpiece  of  Titian  before  which  women  will  kneel 
in  wondering  awe  and  adoration  as  long  as  line  or  tint  of 
it  remains.  And  well  they  may!  It  is  the  apotheosis  of 
womanhood.  From  many  a  shadowy  niche  and  dusky  wall 
smiles  down  upon  you  the  fair  girl  to  whom  the  angel  brings 
Annunciation  lilies,  or  the  tender  mother  with  her  Babe. 


64  MEMORIALS  OF 

Often  you  find  Our  Lady  of  Sorrows  fainting  before  the 
cross;  sometimes  the  glorious  Bride  of  the  Apocalypse 
clothed  with  the  sun  and  the  moon  under  her  feet,  and 
upon  her  head  a  crown  of  twelve  stars;  hut  only  there  in 
Venice,  the  simple  mortal  woman,  who  puts  on  immor- 
tality; mother  of  God  perhaps,  but  surely  your  mother 
and  mine.  She  is  no  longer  young.  She  has  known  life 
and  what  it  brings  to  a  woman  through  all  its  glad,  sad 
range;  she  has  known  life,  and  death,  and  without  one 
thought  of  self,  of  good  or  ill  desert,  but  only  of  the  love 
to  which  she  goes,  enters  into  the  ineffable  beyond. 
Beneath  stand  the  disciples  around  her  empty  rose-crown- 
ed tomb;  but  they  heed  it  not,  rapt  and  hushed  they 
behold  the  heavenly  vision. 

So,  to-day,  dear  friends,  meeting  as  it  were  around  a 
grave,  the  grave  of  our  Virgin  Mother,  crowned  with  roses, 
and  with  the  palrn  of  victory,  may  we  know  that  it  is 
empty.  She  is  risen,  and  on  us  women,  on  our  various 
work  and  wa.y,  may  "light  from  her  celestial  garments 
stream." 

MRS.  BRAZEE. — There  are  in  this  room  to-day,  two  who 
were  little  girls  forty  years  ago,  and  who  on  that  bright 
June  morning  were  present  when  Miss  Sill  began  the  school 
which  has  now  become  Rockford  Seminary.  We  two,  re- 
member the  kindly  words  of  wisdom,  the  gentle  counsels 
with  which  she  strove  to  guide  us  in  those  early  days  and 
to  give  us  watch-words  for  after  years.  Her  care  did  not 
cease  when  her  pupils  left  the  school.  First  and  last  she 
was  ever  the  same.  Miss  Olmstead,  of  the  class  of  1889, 
told  me  of  her  last  conversation  with  Miss  Sill,  and  she 
has  kindly  consented  to  rehearse  what  are  like  last  words 
to  us.  

Abbms  of  jHiss  Abelciibe  jfEl  (JHmsteob. 

I  feel  my  inability  to  fulfil  the  task  before  me,  yet  in 
behalf  of  the  class  of  '89,  I  am  glad  to  add  our  testimony 


ANJ\A  P.  SILL.  05 

to  the  already  overflowing  tribute,  paid  to  one,  whose 
memory  will  ever  be  held  in  reverence  and  love,  by  all 
with  whom  she  came  in  contact.  During  our  years  here, 
Miss  Sill  has  often  been  among  us,  and  though  we  never 
knew  her  as  a  teacher,  her  kindly  face  and  cordial  greetings 
have  ever  been  an  inspiration.  We  feel  grateful  for  the 
interest  she  took  in  us,  who  cannot  claim  the  dear  rela- 
tionship of  pupil.  We  always  found  a  warm  welcome  when 
ever  we  entered  her  room,  and  her  calls  upon  us  were  es- 
teemed a  rare  favor. 

On  one  such  occasion,  but  a  few  months  ago,  I  was 
especially  impressed  with  her  gentle  words  of  advice,  and 
as  she  left  my  room,  I  wrote  down  a  few  sentences  on  the 
fly  leaf  of  the  book  I  was  studying,  thinking  to  preserve 
them  as  a  memento  of  my  senior  year,  not  dreaming  that 
they  would  be  her  last  words  to  me.  I  can  think  of  no 
more  fitting  tribute  than  to  give  these  few  words  of  her  own, 
even  though  they  lose  half  their  force  when  separated  from 
her  quaint  expression,  and  the  loving  spirit  which  shone 
from  her  face.  She  appeared  to  me  the  very  embodiment 
of  the  thought  which  she  told  me  had  been  the  Seminary 
motto  since  its  start :—uDecus  et  Veritas,"— "Grace  and 
Truth." 

The  three  brief  sentences  with  which  our  talk  may  be 
summed  up,  seem  to  me  a  key  to  the  inner  life  of  the  one 
who  spoke  them. 

"Whatsoever  He  saith  unto  you,  do  it." 
"  What  the  Lord  wants  you  to  do,  He  will  give  you 
power  to  do." 

"  Let  His  spirit  be  in  you,  and- He  will  direct  you." 
A  halo  rests  upon  the  silver  hair  and  lights  up  the  soft 
bright  eyes  of  one  whose  memory  will  rest  upon  the  class 
of  '89,  as  a  sweet  and  solemn  benediction. 

MRS.  BRAZEE. — Though  dead  she  lives  evermore.  Miss 
Lathrop  will  turn  our  thoughts  into  that  broader  life  where 
as  guardian  angel  she  may  still  serve  us,  her  pupils,  and 
this  Institution. 


66  MEMORIALS  OF 


m  JBtarttjct  ®.  Cattjrop. 

Miss  Sill  as  a  woman,  and  as  a  teacher  commands 
our  admiration  and  respect.  The  responsible  position 
assigned  her  in  life,  she  filled  with  highest  credit,  by  un- 
selfishly yielding  all  her  powers  for  the  well  being  of  others. 
In  her  work  and  in  the  familiar  intercourse  of  daily  life,  her 
aim  was  to  make  manifest  what  ever  of  good  there  was  and 
to  give  opportunity  for  the  fullest  development  of  true 
character  in  those  who  came  under  her  influence. 

She  has  passed  beyond  the  range  of  mortal  eye,  but 
she  is  present  to  the  inner  vision.  And  now  it  is  not  the 
erect  form  and  kindly  eye  that  attract  and  hold  us,  it  is 
the  stronger  power  of  the  pure  and  noble  spirit  which  can 
never  die. 

On  the  walls  of  a  far  oriental  home  hangs  her  pictured 
face,  and  often  has  it  proved  an  inspiration  to  faltering 
courage,  stimulating  to  more  earnest,  persevering  effort. 
For  who  that  looked  at  that  face  remembering  the  char- 
acter behind  it,  the  struggles  undergone,  could  think  of 
yielding  while  power  of  resistance  lasted.  She  fills  this,  her 
home,  to-day  and  will  continue  here  an  inspiration  and  a 
benediction,  and  not  here  alone  will  her  presence  be  felt, 
for  who  shall  say  that  her  freed  spirit  has  not  wider  range 
and  more  exalted  service  from  the  Master  in  influencing 
the  hearts  and  lives  of  those  still  this  side  the  veil,  en- 
gaged in  the  warfare  against  ignorance  and  evil.  We 
who  knew  her  best,  realize  something  of  the  breadth  of 
her  sympathies,  and  one  has  well  said  :  "A  thousand  mil- 
lion lives  are  his  who  carries  the  world  in  his  sympathies." 

Sisters,  friends,—  earnest  consecrated  lives  such  as  hers, 
are  appreciated,  and  from  north  and  south,  east  and  west, 
multitudes  to-day  rise  to  call  her  blessed. 


MRS.  B RAZEE.—  We  will  sing  "Blest  be  the  tie  that 
binds,"  and  go  forth  to  duty. 


ANNA  P.  SILL.  67 

From  the  many  letters  received  from  absent  members 
the  following  are  selected  as  voicing  a  common  tribute: 

MINNEAPOLIS,  June  24,  1889^ 
To  the  Alumnte  Association  of  Rock  ford  Seminary : — 

A  thrill  of  sorrow  has  touched  all  our  hearts  with  the 
sad  message  that  comes  to  us  from  Alma  Mater.  Can  it  be 
that  we  are  invited  to  Bockford  Seminary,  but  not  to  meet 
our  dear  Miss  Sill!  Whether  our  school  days  closed  in  the 
sixties  or  the  eighties,  our  fond  memories  cluster  about 
her,  and  find  common  ground. 

We  mourn  with  you,  and  would  let  our  tears  mingle 
with  yours,  as  you  gather  on  Wednesday  to  offer  loving 
tribute  to  the  memory  of  her  whose  sweet  presence  you 
had  expected  in  your  midst. 

How  fitting  that  she  should  go  from  the  school  home 
she  loved  so  well,  to  the  other  home,  still  dearer  to  her 
heart.  A  real  Commencement,  and  yet  hardly  that,  just 
an  enlarging  and  expanding  of  the  life  she  has  lived  so  long. 
"There  is  no  Death !  what  seems  so  is  transition." 

May  we  all  treasure  her  counsels  and  the  lessons  of  her 
life,  and  let  her  influence  flow  on  through  us  into  all  the 
channels  in  which  our  life  currents  lie,  and  it  shall  indeed 
be  true  that  u  she  being  dead,  yet  speaketh." 

Yours  in  behalf  of  the  Association  of  the  Northwest, 

GERTRUDE  E.  FOSTER, 

Vice  President. 

720  First  Ave.,  S., 
MINNEAPOLIS,  MINN.,  June  22,  1889. 
DEAR  Miss  GELSTON  :— 

It  was  a  kind  thought  to  at  once  notify  the  Alumna 
and  friends  of  Kockford  Seminary,  that  our  beloved  Miss 
Sill  has  gone  home. 

An  invitation  to  attend  the  memorial  services  after 
the  annual  lunch,  June  26th,  is  just  at  hand.  Will  you 
kindly  express  to  the  Alumnae  Association  my  regret  that 
I  cannot  be  present. 


68  MEMORIALS  OF 

Tome,  Miss  Sill  was  more  than  a  beloved  Principal  and 
teacher,  she  was  a  dear  and  honored  friend;  and  so  I 
doubly  mourn  her  loss.  But  to  her  it  is  the  entering  into 
the  joy  of  her  Lord,  and  I  rejoice  that  she  has  this  blessed- 
ness. 

Only  the  last  day  will  reveal  how  great  a  work  was 
hers  in  leading  souls  to  Christ,  and  helping  her  pupils  to 
an  active  Christian  life. 

Sorrowfully  yours. 

LUCY  HEATH  PLANT. 
(MRS.  HENRY  PLANT.) 


CHATAUQUA,  N.  Y. 
To  THE  ALUMNA  ASSOCIATION  OF 

KOCKFORD  SEMINARY: 

To  hundreds  of  hearts  in  our  land  the  tidings  of  the 
death  of  Anna  P.  Sill  came  as  a  great  shadow,  and  the 
many  lives  she  has  uplifted  and  inspired  will  be  filled  with 
sorrow  at  her  passing. 

As  I  was  journeying  northward  from  Florida,  the  sad 
intelligence  met  me  in  New  York,  while  I  was  hoping  soon 
to  greet  once  more,  on  my  way  to  California,  this  friend  of 
many  years — and  such  tidings  could  not  fail  to  awaken 
many  tender  reminiscences. 

It  was  in  1852,  that  I  first  came  under  Miss  Sill's  influ- 
ence. She  was  then  thirty-six  years  of  age,  a  woman  of 
such  splendid  physique  and  majestic  beauty  that  any 
artist  might  have  rejoiced  to  find  such  a  model  for  a  Greek 
goddess;  but  it  was  not  her  imposing  presence  that  most 
impressed  those  under  her  influence.  Her  moral  worth 
and  lofty  Christian  teachings  and  ideals ;  her  great  dignity 
and  a  personal  magnetism,  as  pure  as  it  was  powerful, 
swayed  the  minds  of  her  pupils  in  a  wonderful  manner, 
while  the  warm  regard  in  which  she  held  them,  and  the 
genial  welcome  always  given  to  those  who  returned,  drew 
them  to  her  by  the,  ties  of  strong  affection  and  reverence. 


ANNA  P.  SILL.  69 

The  combined  financial  and  executive  burdens  which 
were  laid  upon  her  in  the  pioneer  days  of  Kockford  Semi- 
nary deprived  her  of  the  leisure  for  scholastic  work 
toward  which  her  tastes  drew  her,  but  she  felt  it  her  duty 
to  take  up  the  work  which  lay  nearest  her  hand,  and  this 
she  carried  forward  with  an  energy,  cheerfulness  and  per- 
sistence rarely  excelled. 

In  her  religious  standards  of  faith  and  practice  she 
held  much  to  the  Puritan  ideals,  and  by  some  was  felt  to 
magnify  the  law  above  the  gospel.  Had  she  lived  in  the 
time  of  Savonarola,  she  would  doubtless,  in  her  younger 
days,  have  been  a  devoted  follower  of  the  great  Florentine. 

She  was  a  warm  admirer  of  the  work  and  character  of 
Mary  Lycm,  and  would  have  set  Mt.  Holyoke  Seminary 
before  her  as  a  model  had  the  needs  of  a  pioneer  community 
and  of  the  growing  city  in  which  Rockford  Seminary  was 
established  permitted  it. 

She  was  not  without  that  appreciation  of  her  work 
which  is  one  of  the  elements  of  worldly  success,  and  she 
prized  the  love  and  approbation  of  her  friends  and  pupils 
to  a  degree  that  by  some  was  thought  a  weakness. 

To  those  who  knew  her  best,  Miss  Sill's  leading  char- 
acteristic was  benevolence.  Every  philanthropic  move- 
ment met  with  sympathy  from  her,  and  hundreds  of  poor, 
struggling  students  will  cherish  her  memory  as  that  of  a 
kind  benefactor. 

For  more  than  a  decade  my  life  and  work  has  been 
widely  separated  from  hers,  but  the  fifteen  years  during 
which  I  was  permitted  to  share  her  companionship,  and 
the  toils  of  her  prime,  I  count  a  rare  privilege.  Sharing 
the  sense  of  bereavement  which  fills  so  many  hearts,  I  can 
yet  rejoice  that  from  her  life  of  noble  usefulness  here  she 
has  entered  upon  divine  and  blessed  activities,  over  which 
sorrow,  age  or  weariness  have  no  power. 

Yours  in  love  and  remembrance, 

MARY  E.  B.  NORTON. 


findownjeijt. 


Qfesarj  t)tj  jMtfs 

Rockford  Seminary  has  an  endowment  which  few  peo- 
ple who  come  in  contact  with  her  fail  to  perceive,  but  which 
no  one  realizes  so  vividly  as  her  own  children.  I  hope  in 
ten  minutes  to  give  tangibility  to  this  endowment — to  in- 
fect the  rest  of  you  with  the  confidence  we  have  in  it.  All 
that  is  necessary  is  to  voice  what  the  Alumnae  have  in  com- 
mon ;  to  articulate  what  I  myself  have  felt  more  or  less 
clearly  since  I  was  six  years  old,  when  on  one  momentous 
day  I  took  my  pennies  from  my  tin  bank  and  solemnly 
gave  them  to  my  sister  Alice,  that  she  might  put  then)  into 
a  carpet  for  the  new  chapel.  It  was  the  green  carpet  with 
red  spots.  Blessings  on  its  memory! 

Do  you  chance  to  remember  what  Dean  Stanley  de- 
clared to  be  his  ambition  in  life,  when  he  became  a  Fellow 
of  Oxford?  He  said  it  was  "to  translate  Dr.  Arnold  into 
English  life  and  character."  His  first  effort  was  to  write 
Dr.  Arnold's  life,  to  preserve  it  in  a  form  of  the  rarest  lit- 
erary excellence.  He  then  proceeded  to  live  it  out,  to  talk 
it  out,  to  diffuse  it,  until  from  that  great  coign  of  vantage, 
Westminster  Abbey,  he  made  Arnold  a  power  throughout 
Christendom. 

Had  Dean  Stanley  been  asked  concerning  Rugby's  en- 
dowment, it  is  absurd  to  suppose  that  he  would  havegiven 
the  number  of  pounds  which  supported  the  school  each 
year.  1  doubt  if  he  would  even  have  said  that  it  was  Dr. 
Arnold  himself;  it  was  rather  the  determination  to  per- 
potuate  Dr.  Arnold ;  the  desire  to  be  devoted  to  the  princi- 
ples to  which  he  was  devoted.  That  glow  of  feeling  which 


ANNA  P.  SILL.  71 

it  is  the  easiest  of  all  things  to  excite  in  young  people  mid 
which,  alas!  too  often  serves  only  to  perplex  and  befog 
them,  had,  at  Rugby,  been  directed  to  definite  ends.  Dr. 
Arnold  not  only  aroused  but  controlled  it,  until  his  passk>n_ 
for  righteousness  was  established,  and  his  reform  in  classic 
education  extended  to  every  political,  social  and  religious 
movement  in  England.  That  was  Rugby's  endowment, 
and  it  raised  the  school  from  comparative  obscurity  to 
secured  honor.  It  made  it  a  distinct  power  in  -English  life. 
It  can  hardly  be  a  mere  coincidence  that  its  especial  col- 
lege at  Oxford  is  Baliol,  and  that  from  Baliol  College  has 
issued  the  movement  which  of  all  movements  is  at  this  mo- 
ment holding  the  hopes  of  deep-hearted  Englishmen — 
Toynbee  Hall  of  East  London. 

It  has  been  said  that  the  English  Whigs  owe  their  suc- 
cess to  the  public  school  at  Eton,  that  through  all  the 
early  days  of  the  Whig  party,  Eton  steadily  became  a  po- 
litical power  and  training  school  for  statesmen.  It  trained 
Chatham,  and  Fox,  and  North,  and  Grenville.  The  Duke 
of  Wellington  declared  that  the  battle  of  Waterloo  was 
won  on  the  playing  fields  of  Eton,  and  his  brother,  the 
gentle  Lord  Wellesley,  begged  to  be  laid  to  rest  in  the 
bosom  of  Eton,  that  mother  from  whom  he  had  learned 
everything  which  had  made  him  wise  and  patriotic.  From 
the  beginning  of  the  party  until  the  Reform  Bill,  Eton 
school,  and  Christ  Church,  its  college,  had  the  monopoly  of 
education  for  public  life.  It  assuredly  was  not  because 
somebody  had  given  them  a  large  endowment  in  money. 
They  did  not  have  exceptionally  brilliant  teaching,  they  did 
not  then  have  a  fine  laboratory  nor  luxurious  libraries 
crowded  with  bronzes  and  marbles,  but  they  did  have  a 
distinctive  character,  and  the  youth  of  England  who 
dreamed  of  a  career  in  politics,  came  to  them  that  they, 
perchance,  might  catch  the  spirit  of  it. 

The  endowment  of  Eton  for  many  years  was  that  am- 
bition for  wise  and  patriotic  statesmanship,  as  that  of 
Rugby  was  rational  godliness,  and  a  certain  passion  for 


72  MEMORIALS   OF 

doing  good.  Each  taught  but  the  ordinary  college  course. 
They  .simply  focused  a  movement,  made  a  certain  kind 
of  life  'possible. 

In  both  cases  they  attracted  to  themselves  what  they 
alreadyhad.  There  are  many  instances  of  less  note  in  this 
country.  The  most  familiar  to  us,  perhaps,  is  the  mission- 
ary zeal  associated  with  all  the  earlier  history  of  Mt.  Holy- 
oke.  We  are  all  sensible  of  constantly  looking  for  the 
distinctive  trait,— the  trend— the  meaning  of  an  institu- 
tion. The  mere  congregating  of  people  for  study,  the  mere 
exhibition  of  talent  and  learning,  fails  to  impress  us.  §The 
accumulation  itself,  the  result  of  a  college  course,  is  a 
mountain  of  mere  straw  and  stubble,  unless  it  is  fused  and 
held  together  by  a  moral  purpose.  It  must  have  an  ani- 
mus to  keep  it  from  reverting,  from  going  back  into  the 
mere  classics  and  mathematics  of  text-books.  It  is  not 
easy  to  establish  such  a  thing.  It  can  by  no  means  be  ad- 
ventitious. It  cannot  be  forced  or  imported.  It  must  rep- 
resent the  strong  convictions  of  at  least  one  person,  and 
the  need  of  many  others.  It  always  has  its  struggle  with 
doubt  and  self -distrust  before  its  friends  learn  to  believe  in 
it  and  allow  it  to 'assert  itself.  Yet  by  certain  educators, 
much  given  to  quoting  Comeriius  and  Pestalozzi  and 
Froebel,  it  is  said  that  those  schools  which  can  give  to 
their  students  a  definite  impulse  and  aim  are  the  only 
schools  worth  considering  at  all;  that  the  others,  in  spite 
of  brilliant  endeavors,  end  too  often  in  lowering  vitality — 
in  burying  the  young  spirit  itself  under  a  mass  of  worthy 
things. 

The  first  students  of  Rockford  Seminary  inherited  from 
their  fathers  and  from  the  new  countrv,  the  ambition  and 
training  to  overcome  difficulties.  They  came  here  to  get 
something — to  add  to  their  power,  that  they  might  ha,ve 
more  to  use.  They  were  almost  never  impelled  in  those 
earliest  years,  by  mere  ambition,  and  even  wrhen  moved 
by  the  pure  love  of  study  and  desire  for  self  improvement, 
it  was  soon  modified  by  more  practical  and  beneficent  mo- 


ANNA  P.  SILL.  73 

tives.    It  is  interesting'  to  trace  this  earliest  characteristic 
under  widely  changed  conditions.    I  have  met  my  sisters 
in    Dresden,  in    London  and  Chicago,  still  actuated   by 
this  primitive  Seminary  energy,  curiously  distinct  and~ 
recognizable. 

From  the  very  first  we  owe  to  her  whom  we  mourn  to- 
day with  such  heavy  hearts,  the  highest  grace  any  institu- 
tion can  possess.  Miss  Sill  gave  it  that  strong  religious 
tone  which  it  has  always  retained.  She  came  to  Illinois 
in  an  unselfish  spirit — notto  buildup  a  large  school,  notto 
make  an  intellectual  center,  but  to  train  the  young  women 
of  a  new  country  for  Christian  usefulness.  She  unaffectedly 
and  thoroughly  made  that  her  aim.  The  spiritual  so 
easily  speaks  over  all  other  voices,  it  arrests  us  at  once. 
We  travel  the  world  over  to  find  the  spots  associated  with 
a  humble  soul,  singly  striving  to  unite  itself  with  the  Un- 
seen. Salisbury  Plain,  with  magnificent  Stonehenge,  fails 
to  stir  us  as  does  the  tiny  church  on  the  edge  of  it  from 
whose  porch  George  Herbert  mused  and  prayed.  We 
are  bound  by  the  tenderest  ties  to  perpetuate  this  primi- 
tive spiritual  purpose — Miss  Sill's  life-motive.  It  will  be 
easy  to  do  this — we  cannot  otherwise;  it  is  associated  with 
this  spot  by  her  long  life  and  made  bright  by  her  gentle 
death.  Why  did  Thackery  put  dear  old  Col.  Newcome  into 
the  Charter  House  School  to  die,  but  that  he  wished  to  give 
to  his  Alma  Mater  the  most  exquisite  finish,  the  most  con- 
summate grace  his  genius  could  devise — to  associate  with 
it  forever  the  passing  from  earth  of  a  gentle,  unselfish  spirit 
whose  work  was  finished. 

Providence  has  granted  us  this  grace,  and  whatever 
good  fortune  the  future  may  hold  for  us,  nothing  can  be 
finer  than  that  we  have  already. 

The  early  school  stood  for  the  intellectual  certainly, 
not  only  professedly  but  vitally,  when  Kockford  Semi- 
nary was  the  only  institution  in  the  vicinity  which  furnished 
to  women  the  higher  advantages,  and  whose  corps  of 
teachers,  from  that  vague  region,  "the  East,"  gave  to 


74  MEMORIALS  OF 

ninny  a  girl  her  first  glimpse  of  the  larger  life.  But  with 
thvj  intellectual  and  religous,  was  constantly  combined  the 
stirring,  practical  character,  born  of  the  condition  of  the 
country  itself.  The  yearning  of  its  young  people  to  fulfill 
the  law  of  mutual  service,  to  yield  to  the  strong  impulse 
calling  them  to  work  was  always  recognized.  It  gave  us 
from  the  first  that  balance  in  development  which  the  fore- 
most educators  of  England  and  America  are  now  urging. 
We  have  instinctively  recognized  this,  and  endeavored  to 
keep  it.  From  our  scanty  means  we  have  put  up  a  gymna- 
sium, elaborate,  out  of  proportion  to  our  other  equipment, 
that  the  talk  of  manual  labor  which  she  urged  upon  stu- 
dents so  long  ago  might  be  well  continued  after  the  best 
methods,  our  primitive  energy  still  fostered .  We  are  among 
the  first  colleges  to  have  a  night  school,  (though  others 
are  fast  following)  that  the  students  may  confirm  by  the 
deed  those  dreams  of  sacrifice  and  unselfish  devotion  of 
which  young  heads  are  full,  and  that  they  may  test  the 
practical  religion  and  philanthropy  which  young  people 
crave,  and  which,  if  they  are  allowed  to  live  out  freely, 
may  bring  an  answer  to  some  of  our  most  vexed  social 
problems. 

We  believe  that  our  scholarship  is  each  year  more 
thorough  and  fine.  It  is  advancing,  as  it  always  has  done, 
in  proportion  to  our  character,  and  is  made  a  part  of  that. 
Dear  friends,  it  may  be  that  this  is  our  one  opportunity, 
our  road  to  distinction.  We  cannot  rival  Wellesley  and 
Smith  in  their  own  field.  We  haven't  the  propinquity.  We 
are  not  near  enough  to  Boston  or  Concord.  We  are  only 
near  to  the  spirit  of  our  fathers,  and  the  unswerving  pur- 
pose of  our  founder.  Let  us  catch  fairly  and  brightly  the 
spirit  of  this  endowment  and  trust  it  whither  it  may  lead 
us.  Let  us  be  thankful  for  it.  We  are  not  a  little  Vassar, 
we  are  not  the  Mt.  Holyoke  of  the  West,  we  are  Rockford 
Seminary  with  a  history  of  forty  years,  with  our  own 
characteristics,  finer  than  anything  imitation  can  give. 
There  is  a  German  proverb  of  which  I  am  very  fond.  It 


ANNA  P.  SILL.  75 

may  be  translated,  "The  Good  is  the  greatest  enemy  of 
the  Best."  It  may  be  that  our  poverty  has  preserved  us 
from  many  good  things — second-rate  things — only  that 
we  might  be  able  to  cherish  the  best,  that  we  might  pre- 
serve our  endowment.  We  have  been  too  poor  for  much 
building.  We  shall,  perhaps,  never  have  a  dining-room 
with  beautiful  plate  glass  windows  looking  out  upon  the 
river  and  a  huge  sideboard  glittering  with  cut  glass  and 
silver. 

We  can  always  be  thankful  for  this,  that  we  have  never 
been  buried  under  the  second  best,  an  accumulation  of 
merely  good  things.  We  have  not  been  stuffed  with  a  con- 
tent and  shallow  pride;  we  have  escaped  the  curse  of 
self-satisfaction. 

What  is,  after  all,  the  office — the  function — of  an  insti- 
tution like  this,  of  the  local  college?  Is  it  not  to  hold  out 
to  the  eager  young  people  of  the  vicinity  its  draught  of 
water — to  give  them  to  drink?  The  cup  which  has  been 
given  us  to  hold  is  pla,in  and  unadorned.  What  matters 
it  so  that  the  water  itself  is  pure?  Colleges  to  the  east 
and  west  of  us  may  stretch  forth  a  finer  goblet,  but  they 
contain  at  best  nothing  better  than  what  we  may  have, 
if  the  liquid  they  hold  is  contaminated  by  one  drop 
of  self-conceit  or  worldjy  ambition  which  shall  dazzle  the 
drinker  and  turn  his  head  with  a  sense  of  his  own  attain- 
ment, it  matters  little  of  what  stuff  the  cup  is  made— the 
plainer  the  better.  I  should  really  despair  if  this  should 
be  our  fate.  Nothing  short  of  this  can  turn  our  future 
black. 


on  FBiss  Bill's  Beath. 


BY  THE   TRUSTEES. 

AC  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Trustees  of  Kockford 
Seminary,  held  at  the  Seminary  on  June  25th,  1889,  the 
following  preamble  and  resolutions  were  unanimously 
adopted : 

It  having  pleased  Almighty  God  in  his  all-wise  Provi- 
dence to  call  home  to  her  rest  and  reward  Miss  Anna  P. 
Sill,  the  true  Alma  Mater  or  Foster  Mother  of  this  Semi- 
nary, and  for  nearly  forty  years  its  honored  and  beloved 
Principal,  it  is  due  bo  her  memory,  and  to  the  Institution 
to  which  her  life  was  devoted,  to  put  on  record  the  follow- 
ing resolutions. 

Resolved,  That  in  the  work  Miss  Sill  has  wrought 
for  Rockford  Seminary  we  recognize  with  devout  gratitude 
the  wisdom  and  ordaining  purpose  of  God  in  raising  up 
such  a  wolman,  and  endowing  her  so  amply  with  the  abili- 
ties and  qualifications  requisite  for  so  great  and  import- 
ant an  enterprise.  We  also  recognize  with  high  apprecia- 
tion the  eminent  intellectual  ability,  the  earnest  faith  and 
devotion,  the  indefatigable  patience,  perseverance,  moral 
energy  and  distinguished  success,  with  which  she  prosecuted 
the  work  given  her  to  do,  in  laying  securely  the  founda- 
tions, intellectual,  moral  and  spiritual,  of  this  Institution 
and  in  carrying  it  forward  to  its  present  advancement. 

While  we  mourn  the  great  loss  to  this  Seminary  and 
the  whole  community  of  her  benignant  presence  and  potent 
influence,  we  acknowledge  the  good  Providence  of  God  in 
so  long  sparing  her  life  and  permitting  her  in  its  later 
years  of  retirement  and  release  from  labor,  to  enjoy  in 
some  measure  the  reward  of  her  toil,  and  at  last  to  die 
within  the  walls  of  her  beloved  Seminary,  surrounded  by 
the  friends  and  scenes  and  memories  of  the  past.  Truly  it 
may  be  said  of  her,  "  She  hath  done  what  she  could."  She 
rests  from  her  labors,  and  her  works  do  follow  her, 

Resolved,  That  a  copy  of  this  resolution  be  transmit- 
ted to  the  family  and  relations  of  deceased. 
Rockford  Seminary,  June  25th,  1889. 


ANNA   P.  SILL.  11 

BY  THE   FACULTY. 

Since  in  the  death  of  our  former  Principal,  Anna  P. 
Sill,  our  Heavenly  Father  has  called  to  Himself  a  faithful 
servant  and  removed  from  our  midst  a  noble  life,  we,  the 
present  Faculty  of  Kockford  Seminary,  wish  to  express  our 
high  appreciation  of  her  character  and  her  long,  earnest 
and  far-reaching  work. 

In  the  founding  and  building  up  of  this  Seminary,  she 
showed  great  faith  and  strength  of  purpose,  and  recog- 
nized the  responsibilities  such  a  work  imposed.  In  the 
affectionate  regard  of  the  Alumnse  for  her,  we  see  the 
result  of  that  strong  personality  which  none  who  knew  her 
could  fail  to  recognize. 

Acknowledging  the  inspiration  of  her  faith  and  courage, 
and  realizing  our  privilege  and  responsibility  in  being  per- 
mitted to  carry  on  her  work,  we  would  make  this  expres- 
sion of  our  esteem. 

Signed,  ANNA  B.  GELSTON, 

SARAH  F.  ANDERSON. 
LUCY  A.  BUHHEE, 

Committee  of  the  Faculty. 


ASSOCIATION. 

The  following  resolutions  were  adopted  by  the  Stu- 
dents' Association  at  a  special  meeting  called  June  20th  : 

WHEREAS,  We  realize  that  in  the  death  of  Miss  Sill,  not 
only  has  the  Seminary  lost  the  revered  and  loved  presence 
of  its  founder,  but  that  we,  as  students,  have  lost  a  friend 
whose  life  was  an  ever  present  inspiration. 

Resolved,  That  we,  the  members  of  the  Students' 
Association  of  Rockford  Seminary,  hereby  express  our 
deep  sorrow  at  her  death. 

Resolved,  That  a  copy  of  these  resolutions  be  placed 
upon  the  records  of  the  Association,  and  printed  in  the 
Rockford  Seminary  Magazine. 


BY  THE   ALUMNA. 


WHEREAS,  Since  our  last  annual  gathering,  our  revered 
Principal  Emerita,  Anna  P.  Sill,  has  joined 

"The  choir  invisible  of  those  immortal  dead 
Who  live  again  in  minds  made  better  by  their  presence," 


78  MEMORIALS  OF  ANNA  P.  SILL. 

And,  WHEREAS,  To  us,  the  Alumnae  of  the  Institution 
she  founded  in  faith,  and  built  up  with  unceasing  en- 
deavor, it  has  been  given  deeply  to  feel  the  greatness  of 
her  consecration,  and  the  power  and  steadfastness  of  her 
character,  be  it 

Resolved,  That  while  we  miss  unspeakably,  and  always 
must,  her  beloved  and  honored  presence,  we  give  thanks 
for  the  life  she  has  lived,  and  for  that  upon  which,  we  be- 
lieve, she  has  entered. 


Resolution  unanimously  adopted  by  the  Board  ol  Trus- 
tees of  Rock  ford  Seminary  at  its  annual  meeting,  June 
25th,  1889. 

On  motion  voted,  that  the  Board  of  Trustees  request 
Dr.  Goodwin  to  edit  his  address  delivered  at  the  funeral  of 
the  late  Anna  P.  Sill,  and  that  in  addition  thereto  he  sup- 
ply such  sketch  of  her  life  and  services  as  he  may  be  able 
to" do;  and  that  the  Executive  Committee  cause  the  same 
to  be  published  for  circulation  among  the  friends  of  the 
institution. 


M187491 


THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


